Homeless woman stabs student in face after he offered her a chicken nugget

A woman who stabbed a university student in the face with a broken bottle has been told she is a serious danger to the public after carrying out the ‘nasty and premeditated’ attack. Leeds Crown Court heard the victim had been enjoying a night out during Freshers Week on September 22, 2021, when he was approached by South Londoner Terrialena Parkin, who asked him for £10.

The court was told that the victim was sitting on a bench eating takeaway food when he was approached, and instead of offering the defendant money, he offered her a chicken nugget. Parkin is then said to have walked away without replying, before returning to the victim with a broken bottle which she used to stab him in the face.

A member of the public who had seen Parkin smash the bottle and walk back holding the weapon had shouted to the victim as he was worried about Parkin’s “menacing” behaviour, but the victim did not hear the warning. After the attack, the victim pulled a piece of glass from his face as members of the public helped stem the blood flow from the wound.

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Another witness took the victim’s mobile phone from him and used it to take photos of Parkin, who was later tracked on CCTV cameras as she walked through the city centre. Parkin picked up another bottle from the ground and raised it above her head when police officers approached her, but officers managed to detain her.

The victim went to hospital where the face wound was cleaned and glued. He was discharged later the same day and escaped permanent injury. Jeremy Barton, prosecuting, said: “The defendant literally walked up to him and stabbed the broken glass bottle into his face, causing a laceration. The offence was wholly unprovoked.”

The court heard that Parkin was under the influence of spice at the time of the attack. A little over three weeks after the assault, on October 15, Parking then attacked a prison officer at HMP New Hall while she was on remand.

Mr Barton said Parkin dug her fingernails into the officer’s thumb during a struggle after she refused to return to her cell. The defendant also managed to kick the officer to the side of the head, knocking her glasses off.

Parkin, 34, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and assaulting an emergency worker. Originally from Tulse Hill, Lambeth, from where she was briefly reported missing in 2003, Parkin has 55 previous convictions for 109 offences, including violence.

Martin Morrow, mitigating, said Parkin had a long-standing addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. Mr Morrow said: “The defendant knows there was absolutely no justification for this and, through me, she wishes to apologise unreservedly to the complainant.” He added: “In very simple terms she has led what can only be described as a wretched life.”

Parkin was told she must serve a custodial term of four years, two-thirds of which must be spent in jail. She must then serve a further three years on licence.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC described the bottle attack as “nasty and premeditated.” He said: “When the victim offered you some food in an act of kindness, you walked away, armed yourself with a bottle, deliberately broke it, went back towards him and slashed him across the face, causing him a nasty wound which had glass embedded in it, which the victim had to remove.”

The judge added: “You have a terrible record and you persistently breach court orders. “This is a significant escalation in your offending. I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that I do regard you as a dangerous offender.”