A WOMAN from Rhyl stabbed a man in the chest after he refused to give her cash for drugs, a court heard.

Janet Murphy, said to be desperately addicted to heroin and cocaine and needing money to fund her habit, was paid for completing household chores by Michael Keith Jones while she sofa surfed at his flat on Wellington Road in Rhyl.

Mold Crown Court heard how she asked for more money from her victim and when he refused she took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him in the chest and arm while he was sitting in an armchair.

Before she was due to stand trial on a charge of wounding with intent Murphy, 54, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of wounding as well as possession of a bladed article on May 13.

After fleeing the flat she was found by police sitting on a nearby bench with another kitchen knife in a carrier bag.

Sentencing Murphy to seven-and-a-half months in prison, Judge Timothy Petts told her: “You were desperate for money for drugs, which is why you attacked him and not in self-defence as you claimed immediately to the police.

“This is a serious offence and you are fortunate the knife didn’t do more permanent and serious damage.”

Mr Jones suffered wounds to his upper chest and his forearm was injured he put his arm up to defend himself. He also received a cut to his thumb.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, he said he suffered nerve canal damage and was affected by anxiety after the attack.

He said he regretted not asking Murphy to leave his flat sooner as she was using his bank card and added: “She could have killed me. I am lucky to be alive.”

Prosecutor Anna Pope said Murphy had “limited options” when she was released from prison in January last year and Mr Jones agreed she could stay on his sofa in the living room of his flat.

“There were times when she would help out by cooking and in return she would often ask for money which she would use for drugs,” said the prosecutor.

“She was desperate for more money to secure drugs that days and lost her temper, taking a knife from the kitchen and stabbing Mr Jones while he was sitting in his armchair.”

When she was arrested Murphy claimed Mr Jones had tried to rape her and she was trying to defend herself.

Defence barrister Simon Killeen told the court the relationship between the pair was not as clear cut as stated by the prosecution and claimed the knife victim had paid Murphy for sex in the past.

“When she was released from custody she had nowhere to live and the reality was that she was a vulnerable woman with nowhere to go,” he said.

“She was at the lowest ebb in her life with no friends and was just taking advantage of small amounts of money handed out to her for domestic chores and things even more degrading.

“And there was an air of spontaneity about the way the incident happened and the injuries suffered by Mr Jones were relatively minor.”

Murphy, whose address was given in court as Butterton Road, Rhyl, was also placed under a restraining order not to approach Mr Jones for five years after her release.

A further charge against her of assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty was sent back to the magistrates court.