A young wife whose cheating husband was jailed for 20 years after stabbing her 46 times has vowed to stand by him, a court has heard.
Shannon Barnard, 21, suffered 14 stab wounds to her chest and breasts alone, and had four penetrating her internal organs, and 10 to her abdomen when her husband Michael Barnard attacked her. Both her lungs collapsed and she has been left with multiple scars which may require skin grafts in the future.
Mrs Barnard spent 17 days in hospital following the attack at their home in Hextable, Kent on January 11 this year. She later told police she felt ‘every blow’ and thought she would die and doctors said she was ‘extremely fortunate’ to have survived. But Maidstone Crown Court heard today that she has forgiven her 25-year-old husband and plans to start a family with him on his release from prison.
The court heard she had also been visiting Barnard in prison ‘on every occasion possible’, and plans to see him twice a week. When asked if she forgave him, Mrs Barnard replied: ‘Of course.’