Woman Who Stabbed Lover's Wife Hears Her Fate

A woman who failed to accept that her affair with a married man was over showed up in disguise at the home of his wife, then proceeded to stab her with a carving knife she'd hidden in a bouquet of flowers. Clare Bailey of the UK, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder after the attack last year, has been sentenced to 22 years and four months in prison, North Yorkshire Police announced Friday. "This was a horrific attack on an innocent and blameless lady who is now unable to feel safe in her own home, work, or spend time independently with her children, as a result," said Senior Investigating Officer Jonathan Sygrove. He said the victim, identified as 43-year-old Emma, was hospitalized for more than a month with injuries to her neck, chest, stomach, and arms. "All she did was open the front door to her home," Sygrove noted.

Bailey, 44, had called in sick to work on June 23, 2022, per the York Press. According to police, she drove about 140 miles from her home in the West Midlands town of Dudley to the victim's home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, stopping at a grocery store along the way to purchase flowers. She then rang the doorbell of the victim's home holding the bouquet, inside of which she'd concealed a large carving knife. "These are for you," Emma recalled the stranger concealed in a red wig, face mask, and sunglasses saying as she opened her door. Just as Emma noticed the handle of a knife, Bailey began her attack. Emma said her 14-year-old daughter answered her cries for help. "I honestly don't think I would still be here if she hadn't been home that day," she said.

Bailey ultimately fled and drove home, where she was arrested in the early hours on June 25. "It soon became clear the level of planning Bailey had put in place and the little regard she had for anyone getting in the way of what she wanted," said Sygrove, per the police release. Police determined the woman had had an affair with Emma's husband, though the relationship "had ended several months before the offense took place, something which Bailey had struggled to accept." Stating the obvious, Emma noted, "This was not a normal reaction to someone breaking up a relationship." She added she underwent extensive surgery but is "still in pain every day" and needs crutches or a wheelchair to get around, per CBS News. "I've lost all my independence," she said. "I have just lost my whole life really." (More attempted murder stories.)