A mentally ill WA woman stabbed a complete stranger in a suburban shopping centre so she would be arrested and stopped from killing her family, a court has heard.
The woman, who cannot be identified, went to a camping store in late 2022 and bought a filleting knife, before using it to stab a woman who was standing alone in the shopping centre.
The District Court sentenced the woman to more than four years' jail for the attack on the woman, who had her back turned when a knife was plunged into her lower back.
The woman then fled the scene, returning to her home and telling her mental health care coordinator she had stabbed someone "to save" the ones she loved.
She was charged with attempted murder, but prosecutors accepted her guilty plea to the lesser offence of doing an act that endangered the life of the victim.
Woman wanted to save family pain
The District Court was told in the lead up to the offence, the woman had been having intrusive thoughts about the need to kill her family and herself to save them from suffering pain in the future.
She decided to stab a stranger in order to be be arrested and stopped from acting on her thoughts so her family would be safe.
At the time, the woman had the lyrics of a song in her head that centred on protecting the ones you love.
The court also heard in the weeks and days before the crime, the woman's medication had been reduced, which her partner revealed had caused her mental health to deteriorate.
Judge Gary Massey accepted the woman was suffering a mental crisis at the time, but he described her thoughts, that she had to kill her family to keep them safe, as "completely illogical".
Judge Massey said other options had been available to the woman, including speaking to mental health professionals, which he said could have avoided what he called "this tragic offence".
Victim has anxiety, panic attacks
In a statement provided to the court, the victim said the emotional impact of the offence had been greater than the physical scars and she now suffered anxiety and panic attacks.
Judge Massey described the stabbing as "senseless in the extreme", saying the victim was randomly selected and could have been anyone who encountered the woman.
He said it had the effect of destroying the public's feelings of safety and security, particularly for those people who work in public places.
The court was told the woman had expressed to family members she was horrified by what she had done, and wanted to write a letter of apology to the victim.
Taking into account the woman's early guilty plea, her mental health issues and her good prospects for rehabilitation, Judge Massey imposed a sentence of four years and four months jail.
The woman will have to serve two years and two months before she can be released.
