Man jailed for attacking blind wife with meat cleaver

Jonathan Eldridge was also made the subject of a restraining order preventing him from contacting his wife

A man has been jailed for nine years after striking his blind wife in the head with a meat cleaver.

Jonathan Eldridge, 42, from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, told police he lost control when he returned home to see his wife Victoria had knocked his Xbox and TV on the floor.

Eldridge, who had been out drinking on Christmas Eve 2021, hit her over the head, causing a 10cm (3.9in) wound.

He was jailed for grievous bodily harm with intent at Winchester Crown Court.

Ollie Wellings, prosecuting, told the court the couple had been together for 12 years with Eldridge acting as carer for his wife, who was registered blind and had epilepsy.

He said the marriage had been falling apart and in the hours before the attack Eldridge had been in hospital after taking an overdose.

'Utter disbelief'

The court heard the defendant had said that morning: "One of us is going to end up dead and it's not going to be me."

In a 999 call after the attack, Eldridge said: "I have hit my wife in the head with a meat cleaver. Victoria wake up. I think I have killed her.

"I have got so frustrated with her, I am not sure she will survive this, I am going to be up for murder."

Police later found her unresponsive on the sofa, suffering from significant blood loss.

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Eldridge said: "I am still living day-to-day in utter disbelief, I have no idea why the man I have married and loved for over a decade would feel so much anger towards me and hurt me in the way he did."

She added that she still suffers "flashbacks, nightmares and unbearable pain".

Jonathan Underhill, defending, said Eldridge had shown remorse and admitted what he did was "absolutely terrible".

He said Eldridge had struggled during the Covid pandemic while caring for his wife, who also had a drinking problem.

The judge, Recorder Barry McElduff, said it was "rather by luck than judgment" that she survived the "brutal" attack.

Eldridge was also made the subject of a restraining order preventing him from contacting his wife.