A mum launched a brutal attack on her neighbours after they spoke out about her crashing into a car and driving away. Donna Nickerson slammed one victim's head against a wall and flashed a knife at another.
Donna Nickerson, of Nantyffyllon High Street, drove her car into a parked vehicle owned by one of her neighbours and did not stop, Cardiff Magistrates' Court heard on Monday. The crash was seen by another neighbour, Thomas Rogers, who told the owner of the damaged car.
Over the next couple of days Nickerson, 46, aimed angry comments at Mr Rogers and his partner Morgan ApIvor — a young couple who lived in the same block of flats as her — culminating on February 18 in a vicious assault. Prosecutor Ross McQuillan-Johnson said Ms ApIvor was outside the flats when Nickerson called her a "s*** stirrer" and followed her up the stairs.
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"The defendant attacked her by scratching her arms and face, slamming her head against the wall and pulling her hair," said the prosecutor. "Morgan was able to get away from her, went back to her flat and shut the door.
"Thomas came home and another argument occurred between him and the defendant after he was made aware of the incident earlier that day. Thomas went to the defendant's property and she opened the door with a large kitchen knife in her hand. He described her swinging it in his direction. The defendant then went back inside the property."
Nickerson has 22 previous convictions including for actual bodily harm, battery and possession of a blade. The court heard a statement from Ms ApIvor, who told how the attack had left her in "constant" fear and barely able to eat or sleep. She said she had moved out of the flat because she was "terrified" of Nickerson assaulting her again.
"I am a counsellor and I help people with their lives," said Ms ApIvor. "Now I feel I'm not able to do my job as I should... People are asking me for support and all I want to do is cry."
Mr Rogers said he quit his job as a hotel worker because of the "catastrophic" psychological impact of the incident. The court heard that since the statements were taken, Mr Rogers and Ms ApIvor had relied on the support of relatives for a period before returning to the flat for about three weeks and then finding a tenancy elsewhere.
Nickerson admitted the assaults. Her solicitor John McCarthy accepted the first attack was unprovoked but claimed his client only produced a knife after Mr Rogers confronted her. He said there was evidence from a witness who was concerned that Mr Rogers would assault Nickerson.
Mr McCarthy added his client had been admitted to hospital for mental health reasons twice in the month before the hearing. But District Judge David Webster replied: "Mr McCarthy, I've asked you a few times now, you can't have the penny and the bun. Either I get medical evidence to support the assertions you make or I sentence without them."
The judge criticised the lack of medical evidence but said there was enough in the presentence report for him to sentence. The report said Nickerson has emotionally unstable personality disorder and gets support from Bridgend mental health services.
Mr McCarthy then argued the victims' claims of being too fearful to live in the property because of Nickerson should be "taken with a pinch of salt", pointing out they had returned for weeks. The judge replied that he accepted the victims' statement "without reservation". When the solicitor said the victims "can't have it both ways", the judge said: "That's a matter for me to decide."
The solicitor said Nickerson's three children — who live with their father — have "frequent contact" with the defendant. They would find it "difficult" if she were to be imprisoned, he said.
Passing sentence Judge Webster told Nickerson: "You see yourself in some way as a victim. I am entirely satisfied that the victims' description of the effect that your behaviour had upon them is both reliable and accurate. You have deeply affected the lives of those two young people and to have it suggested that you also are deserving of sympathy—"
Nickerson interrupted: "No I didn't say that actually did I?" But the judge replied firmly: "You would be very well advised to keep your peace. That sort of outburst is precisely what I mean when I say you see yourself as a victim."
Mr McCarthy stood up and said: "I think she does accept responsibility. I don't think those comments are warranted."
The judge said he "hesitated" to suspend the sentence but he believed a restraining order and community order would offer the most protection to the public. He imposed a 22-week prison term suspended for two years, as well as 30 days of rehab activity, with no victim services surcharge or prosecution costs, but Nickerson must pay each victim £500 in compensation. She is barred from contacting either of them for two years.
Mr Rogers and Ms ApIvor had sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing. After Nickerson left, Judge Webster said he recognised that the compensation can "never be adequate" and thanked them for their attendance. You can read more court stories here.
