Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Qld killer stabbed boyfriend during a hug
A Queensland woman sentenced to nine years in jail for fatally stabbing her partner said he walked into the knife.
April 19, 2019
A Queensland woman has been jailed for nine years after she plunged a kitchen knife into her boyfriend’s chest when he tried to hug her during an argument.
Vanessa Lee Jenkins, 42, developed a “hyper-sensitivity” to controlling behaviour during a past violent relationship.
When her new boyfriend, Paul Bakes, went to wrap his arms around her during a fight in their home in Logan, south of Brisbane, she stabbed him in the chest on impulse.
The pair’s relationship had deteriorated in the weeks leading up to Mr Bakes’ death and Jenkins was in the process of moving out.
A voicemail message to him from her said: “I hope you get run off the road. I hope you f****** die”.
When she returned to the home, they argued in the kitchen before she picked up a knife with a 19cm blade and stabbed him in the chest, piercing his lung.
Jenkins followed her crime up with a lie her own defence barrister labelled “plainly preposterous”, telling police that he had walked into the knife.
She was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison for Mr Bakes’ manslaughter in November 2017 after pleading guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court.
She will be required to serve at least half her sentence before being considered for parole.