A woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend with a kitchen knife has been cleared of his murder after telling jurors she feared he would kill her.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Hart-Browne, 27, broke down in tears as she was cleared of all charges at the Old Bailey.<\/p>\n
Miss Hart-Browne cried “I have just killed the man I love” after stabbing Stephen Rayner, 25, on 17 September in Acton, west London.<\/p>\n
The mother of two said he had hit her and grabbed her by the throat.<\/p>\n
The court heard that with young children sleeping feet away, she picked up a large kitchen knife and stabbed Mr Rayner, 25, three times, inflicting a fatal wound to the neck.<\/p>\n
Mr Rayner staggered outside and collapsed in a pool of blood as neighbours rushed to help.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Miss Hart-Browne, who worked as a jewellery designer, said she panicked and went back to clean the knife and clear up blood around the television.<\/p>\n
When the police arrived at their home, Miss Hart-Browne was hysterical telling officers: “I didn’t mean to do it, I’m so sorry.<\/p>\n
“I have just killed the man I love.”<\/p>\n
The jury in the six-week trial took 15 hours to find Miss Hart-Browne not guilty of murder.<\/p>\n
The court heard a row erupted after Miss Hart-Browne came home from a family party.<\/p>\n
Miss Hart-Browne told jurors she regretted not just going to bed when she got home that night. She said if she had, Mr Rayner, originally from Bournemouth, would still be alive.<\/p>\n
The jury was also told of the couple’s volatile six-year relationship, during which Mr Rayner had attacked the defendant many times.<\/p>\n
After one incident outside Liquid nightclub in Uxbridge in 2012, Mr Rayner threatened to throw himself into the Thames and went on to plead guilty to battery.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Miss Hart-Browne said she had became so fearful she took out life insurance because “I believed I was in danger of him killing me and I didn’t want my kids to be left with nothing”.<\/p>\n
The defendant, who was described as having had a troubled upbringing in Somerset, said her boyfriend would take on the persona of his hero Charles Bronson during his terrifying attacks.<\/p>\n
She said: “He had a fascination with Charles Bronson. He liked his aggression.<\/p>\n
“There were lots of stories about him attacking prisoners and guards.<\/p>\n
“He would take on that persona sometimes when he was angry.<\/p>\n
“His whole accent changed, his whole being would change and I couldn’t get through to him.”<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"