19 September 2023 , 20:41
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A woman who fatally stabbed her own sister following a bitter feud has been jailed for life, as loved ones denounced her for destroying their family "beyond repair".
Marie Metcalfe is beginning a minimum 18-year sentence after she murdered her older sister Laura Metcalfe. The brutal killing was the culmination of a months-long conflict involving multiple members of the family. The sisters were part of a large family in Hartlepool, Teesside, including 15 siblings. Mum-of-three Laura Metcalfe, 44, died six days after she was stabbed in a street in the town by her 41-year-old sibling, who was with a friend, Kelly Nicholson, at the time.
Laura Metcalfe, 44, was murdered by sister Marie (North News & Pictures Ltd nort)Victim Laura had recently moved back to the town after living in Scotland for 20 years, Teesside Live reports, but the effort to be closer to family saw her embroiled in tumultuous relationships with them. Marie accused Laura and two other sisters of assaulting her in July last year in a case which was later dropped, as well as making a separate malicious and false allegation about her to police.
Jamie Hill KC, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that the feud came to a tragic conclusion on Good Friday this year (April 7) when Kelly Nicholson - who had been staying with Laura but refused entry to her home as she was intoxicated - turned up at Marie Metcalfe’s home on the same street. She had been denied entry to Laura's home, but Ms Nicholson kept asking for her things.
Killer Metcalfe and Ms Nicholson then headed to a shop where the latter could be seen "blatantly stealing" chocolate, said Mr Hill. While Metcalfe remained in the shop, Ms Nicholson, who had previously been kicking at Laura's door while she was out, headed back to the street where she bumped into Laura, before a brief scuffle ensued.
Double killer who slit girlfriend's throat within weeks of release jailed
The court heard they appeared to be "tussling over something”, which Mr Hill says may well have been over the stolen chocolate. Metcalfe then left the store and caught the end of the brief altercation between her sister and Ms Nicholson.
The defendant then approached her sister and plunged a knife into her chest in one swift movement. Laura managed to stumble back to her home and asked her son to call an ambulance as he tried to give first aid.
Paramedics and police arrived quickly but Laura had suffered a cardiac arrested. Medics managed to restart her heart and she was rushed to hospital, where her heart was repaired. Tragically, however, she died following a lack of blood flow to her brain, caused during the cardiac arrest six, days later.
Flowers left on the street in Hartlepool where Laura was stabbed to death in April (Teessidelive)The court heard how the Metcalfe - who hadn't spoken to her own mother in 18 years - had a history of violent behaviour including smashing a glass in a woman's face in a nightclub, intimidating a witness, and hitting a man over the head with a hammer during an argument in the street.
Metcalfe pleaded guilty to murder on the day her trial was due to start. Nicholas Lumley, mitigating for Metcalfe, said the defendant had been shopping normally and had bought a vape when she caught the end of the dispute with Laura and Ms Nicholson.
He said the offence was not premeditated and that Metcalfe's intention had been only to injure Laura, describing her remorse as "palpable". “She knows she must be punished for what she has done,” said Mr Lumley.
A victim impact statement from both Laura and Marie's mum, 70, was read out in court. Since Laura’s death she has taken in her three children. She said: “Marie has left her niece and nephews without a mam. [The youngest child] cries for his mum day and night.”
A tribute released by the wider family said: "The loss of Laura, a much-loved mum, sister, daughter and friend has destroyed our family beyond repair. We will never forget her and will love and miss her forever."
Sentencing the defendant, Judge Howard Crowson said: "Your swift resort to the knife as a weapon convinces me that you did have the knife available as a weapon and there never was any doubt it was used to inflict the fatal wound to your sister."