"The knife is blunt, stop it Baz." The final, tragic words of a mother who was stabbed to death in front of her children.
Barry Knapper, 31 - a paranoid schizophrenic - began attacking his girlfriend Lisa Reynolds, 30, after she sought refuge in a bedroom.
A court heard Knapper had argued with Lisa over the course of a day out, sleeping in his car until the family returned the next day on February 20th.
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Despite Lisa's attempts to barricade the door, Barry fought his way into the bedroom of their Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent, home. One of her sons heard her say: "That knife is blunt, stop it Baz."
A court heard Knapper held her hair, stabbed her in the chest and elsewhere 17 times, before running off.
Barry was sentenced to life imprisonment at Stafford Crown Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Barry Knapper Image: SWNS
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He will have to serve at least four years and 172 days before he can be considered for release. He will also be detained in a psychiatric hospital until further notice.
Sentencing him yesterday, Judge Michael Chambers QC, said: "You subjected your long-term partner to a brutal and sustained attack.
"It is accepted by the prosecution that at the time you were suffering from mental illness - paranoid schizophrenia.
"This was a brutal attack in which you intended to kill. Indeed, there had been a prior attempt to attack her with a knife that morning."
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RIP, Lisa.
Featured image credit: Facebook
Topics: domestic abuse