Teena Veronica Skilton sentenced for stabbing husband after night of death threats, court hears

A woman who endured decades of domestic violence from her husband was sentenced for the moment she stabbed him in the chest after he threatened to kill her and her friend, a court was told.

Teena Skilton.

A woman who endured decades of domestic violence from her husband was sentenced for the moment she stabbed him in the chest after he threatened to kill her and her friend, a court has heard.

Teena Veronica Skilton appeared in Maroochydore District Court on February 5 for one count of grievous bodily harm (domestic violence) after she pleaded guilty to the charge at a previous date.

Skilton, who sat in the dock, was supported by six family members in the public gallery.

Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the court Skilton had been in a relationship with her husband, Robert Skilton, for 34 years and had an adult child and grandchildren and a history of domestic violence predominately against Skilton.

He said both parties had issues with alcohol and had been drinking since the morning of September 12, 2022.

In the evening, Skilton was having a conversation with a friend in their residence and Mr Skilton had “made a pest of himself,” Mr Andronicus said.

The court heard Skilton attempted to cut him off from the alcohol and her husband began making threats against her and Skilton’s friend who attempted to intervene.

He commented he would “f---ing smash” Skilton and her friend and also threatened to kill her, falsely accusing her of being a sl-t, terrible wife and labelling her a c--t, the court heard.

After Skilton’s friend left and the couple had gone separate ways, Mr Skilton allegedly returned downstairs to where is wife was sleeping and began verbally abusing her again.

Skilton had then walked to the kitchen to grab a filleting knife and stabbed Mr Skilton in the left side of his chest, pulled it out and threw it in the sink, the court heard.

Mr Andronicus said she immediately threw a tea towel at him to stem the bleeding, called triple-0 and then administered first aid as she waited for emergency services.

Mr Skilton was rushed to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he received 65 stitches from his chest down to his abdomen to close up a wound he received from surgery.

The court heard the wound could have taken his life if it had not been immediately attended to and now has lasting and significant impacts on his health.

Mr Skilton, who was 56 at the time, had no recollection of the incident.

Mr Andronicus told the court police spoke to Skilton that same evening where she seemed extremely distressed and immediately admitted to the stabbing.

Skilton said to officers she had not feared for her safety and said her husband had “gone nuts” and she wanted him to “just shut up”.

Maroochydore Court House. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Mr Andronicus said they had 10 good years in their marriage and Skilton had since suffered domestic abuse including assault on occasions - where at one point her teeth were knocked out - and even fled to a women’s refuge in Toowoomba for a year.

Mr Andronicus said Skilton had escalated the situation as she had not been physically abused or felt any fear, but acknowledged the long history of domestic violence and circumstances.

Defence barrister Mark Dixon told the court his client had been addressing her alcohol use and still has ways to go, but Skilton had been sober for 16 months since the incident.

He told the court Skilton said her husband had not been abusive to her prior to the incident, but she appeared to Mr Dixon as a “person protecting her abuser”.

He said both a psychologist report and witness verified the history of domestic abuse, with recounts of people observing assaults and blood throughout the the pair’s unit months prior.

Mr Dixon told the court Skilton holds a graduate diploma in community services, is currently studying a degree in human services and has a long history of employment in caravan park management, retail and as a cleaner.

Some of Skilton’s supporters reached for tissues as Judge Judge Nicholas Andreatidis acknowledged she had been emotionally, physically and financially abused for decades.

“Your relationship with the complainant has been described as tumultuous... that is a very sanitised way of describing what I can only imagine to have been horrific for you,”

“You read like the person I actually see in front of me: a loving, caring mother, a victim of horrible, horrible violence.”

Judge Andreatidis sentenced her to three years imprisonment immediately suspended and her 120 days spent in pre-sentence custody were declared as time served.

Skilton and her family broke into relieved smiles as they exited the courtroom.