COURT NEWS: Lincolnshire woman stabbed her fellow tenant in kitchen row

Beatriz Alves, now living in Carlton Road, Boston, was a tenant in a multi-occupancy house in the town’s Norfolk Street at the time of the offence.

She admitted the offence when she first appeared at Boston Magistrates Court in September when the case was adjourned for a report from the Probation Service and sentence.

At that time, the magistrates heard that both Alves and the victim, Antonio Carvalho, lived in the six person multi-occupancy house and shared a kitchen and living room.

It was said that on July 1, Mr Carvalho returned home from work and heard Alves in the kitchen and that he had been frustrated for some time that he couldn’t get into the kitchen as Alves’ son came over most nights and she cooked a meal for him.

Mr Carvalho telephoned the landlord who confirmed Alves’ son should not be coming over so much to eat and he told her what the landlord had said.

It was said Alves lunged at him, swore at him and pushed him away, and that he swore back at her and she then turned, took a knife from a kitchen drawer and shouted ‘move, move, move’ and then stabbed him in the left side of his stomach, inflicting a one to two centimetre cut.

In interview she alleged the victim was drunk and provoking her, admitted using the knife but said she had ‘only pricked him a bit and could have pricked him more’.

It was said Alves admitted there was no imminent danger to herself and that she now felt bad about it.

In mitigation, it was said that Alves, who has no previous convictions, was preparing food at the time and had the knife in her hand.

It was claimed Alves had hoped to scare Mr Carvalho so he would go away and leave her alone but she knew what she had done was wrong.

On Tuesday, November 16, Boston magistrates imposed a 12 week prison sentence suspended for a year and ordered her to pay £200 compensation to Mr Carvalho and court costs and charges totalling £213.