Scissors murder accused Sandra Clinch 'stabbed previous husband'

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A woman accused of murdering her fourth husband by stabbing him with scissors attacked a previous husband with a knife, a court has heard.

Sandra Clinch, 49, denies murdering Alan Clinch, 48, at their home near Liskeard in Cornwall in May.

Her ex-husband Andrew Fazekas read diaries to Truro Crown Court describing her attacks on him during their marriage.

The jury also heard she had hit some of her five children

One of her sons described being hit by a bowl and being grabbed round the neck.

'Went berserk'

Mr Fazekas, read extracts from his 1980 and 1981 diaries, saying Mrs Clinch went "crazy mad", abusing him and their two sons.

In an entry from 12 December 1980, he wrote: "Sandra attacked me with a bread knife and a screwdriver."

Writing about 2 February 1981, he wrote: "Trouble all day long as Sandra threw a dart - or rather stabbed me with a dirty dart. She also attacked me with a pipe from a Hoover."

Another entry, from 20 February 1981, described an attack on their children: "She threw baby Edward on to the sofa from about 4ft up. She also hit Andrew. She went berserk."

Defending Mrs Clinch, Andrew Langdon QC, suggested that Mr Fazekas had written the entries much later, and had made exaggerations.

Mr Fazekas, who was married to the defendant between December 1981 and 1984, denied this.

In other evidence, Adrian Knibbs, her son from another relationship, told the jury his mother punched, kicked and scratched him.

Describing one incident when he was 13, Mr Knibbs, now 28, said: "My mum hit me with a porcelain bowl because I hadn't dried up the dishes properly. It cut my head."

Of another incident, he said: "I had been in trouble, she grabbed me around the neck and left red marks.

"She told me to tell the school that it was sunburn."

Mr Clinch was found at the couple's home in Darite, near Liskeard, on 13 May after being wounded by a pair of scissors.

He was flown by air ambulance to Derriford Hospital but died from his injuries.

The trial continues.

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