A woman who stabbed a 14-year-old boy in the armpit with a knife after he taunted her partner outside a shopping centre has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Nekita Christa Round, 38, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to one count of wounding over the incident at the bus mall in Rosny on October 7, 2023.
The court heard Round and her partner drove to an ATM at the mall on Hobart’s eastern shore, where a group of youths were “hanging around”.
As her partner used the ATM, one of the young people started to “taunt him from across the road”, prompting the man to give chase.
Round followed her partner and approached the group, before raising a small knife she was holding in her hand and stabbing the boy to his upper body as he ran by.
The victim ran to the nearby shopping centre for help, with police later observing blood running down his torso from under a cloth he was holding against the wound.
He was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital and found to have a 3.5cm by 2cm laceration to his right armpit, which required stitches.
Justice Robert Pearce said the knife did not penetrate deeply and that there was no serious damage to the underlying tissue, blood vessels or organs.
He said the complainant was “not unknown” to Round and that her reaction to the situation was influenced by a belief that the group had previously “seriously bullied” her eldest son and assaulted her partner.
“You took the knife, which was part of a multi-tool which was already in the car fearing what might happen,” Pearce said.
“Whilst that may partly explain your conduct, it does not excuse such an extreme act as stabbing a 14-year-old boy to the upper chest with a knife.”
“You did not act in self-defence or in defence of [your partner] … It was fortunate that he was not more seriously injured.”
Justice Pearce said the potential for serious injury or death arising from a stab wound to that part of the body “should be obvious to anyone”.
He noted that Round has no relevant prior convictions, a stable family and has held employment in the past.
“I accept that this was out of character and is unlikely to happen again,” he said.
Justice Pearce sentenced Round to eight months in prison, fully suspended for 18 months.
“The law imposes a condition on the suspended sentence that, while it is in force, you do not commit another offence punishable by imprisonment,” he said.
“You should clearly understand that if you breach that condition you will be required to serve the term of imprisonment … unless that is unjust.”
