A mother of a child attempted to drill a hole in a disabled woman’s head with a Black+Decker power tool after a neighbor dispute escalated dramatically.
Former aid worker Jade Kent, 31, stormed into the home of 39-year-old Amy Hardman and then restrained her in a chair in her dining room before ramming the tools into her skull as she yelled, “I’m going to fuck **killed” you.’
The victim – who is disabled with arthritis and uses a mobility scooter – tried to get away from her attacker but suffered multiple lacerations to her skull and a cut to her left arm before Kent ran off.
Miss Hardman’s 13-year-old daughter was alarmed by her mother’s cries for help, but had to cower in her bedroom because she was too scared to intervene.
Police who later arrested Kent at her home in Abbey Hey, Gorton, Manchester, found that she had placed a screwdriver bit in the cordless drill which she then used to attack Miss Hardman.
Former aid worker Jade Kent, 31, launched a drill attack on disabled neighbor in Manchester
Kent had a previous conviction for battery and racially aggravated threatening behavior dating back to her childhood.
She wanted revenge after her seven-year-old daughter received “inappropriate” messages from Miss Hardman’s boyfriend’s eight-year-old nephew.
At Manchester Crown Court, Kent was sentenced to five years and four months in prison and issued an indefinite restraining order barring her from contacting Miss Hardman after she admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and aggravated burglary. Her innocent plea to attempted murder was accepted by the prosecution.
The incident took place on May 29 last year after Kent was blamed for several incidents of anti-social behavior in the area, including throwing paint over an abandoned Audi car and drunken screaming in the street late at night.
Geoff Whelan’s accuser said: ‘At 11 a.m., Amy’s partner Stephen Burns took their French bulldog for a walk with his eight-year-old nephew. They encountered the defendant who got into an argument with him over a text message the cousin had sent to her daughter several months earlier. She called the boy a “f****** little nonce”, but Mr. Burns pointed out that his nephew was only eight years old and told her to go home.
“The defendant did go home, but six minutes later she was seen running down the street with something in her hand and then entering Amy’s house.
Kent was sentenced to five years and four months in prison and an indefinite restraining order
“Amy heard the door slam open as if it had been kicked in, and the defendant forced his way in. Amy yelled, “What’s wrong?” and the defendant stood in the hallway looking straight at her with a “crazed look” on her face.
“She waved a power tool and said, ‘Have you seen this drill?’ and then forced the drill into the back of Amy’s head just behind her ear.
“Amy was terrified and she thought she was going to die.”
Kent eventually fled the premises with the drill in her right hand, leaving Amy screaming for help as she lay in a pool of blood.
The victim was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment, which included a 4cm cut to her scalp, a 4cm abrasion to her neck and a 2cm area of skin loss around her arm.
She also underwent a CT scan because she feared she might have suffered a brain injury.
Police arrested Kent at her home, where she was reportedly distressed and heard crying repeatedly, “I’m sorry.”
She did not comment during police questioning. Officers found the drill in the briefcase and the screwdriver bit on the floor.
Ms Hardman, now scarred for life, said she would leave the area due to harrowing flashbacks of the attack.
“This attack didn’t stop when Jade left my house,” she said in a statement. “Every time I look in the mirror now, I am reminded of what she did to me. I have done absolutely nothing to earn scars on my body. The pain and shock of these physical wounds were bad enough back then, but the lasting scars serve as a constant reminder of a violent and unprovoked attack in my own home.
“The physical injuries are one thing, but the mental impact on both myself and my daughter is excruciating. For months I couldn’t enter the dining room of my own house because it brought too strong a memory of what happened that day. Every time I went in there I would have flashbacks and panic attacks because I can’t rationalize what happened to me in that room that day.”
Kent had a previous conviction for battery and racially aggravated threatening behavior dating back to her childhood.
In a softening defense, Ms. Rachel Shenton said, “This was a moment of madness and a loss of control. Immediately afterwards, she expressed remorse and regret in the strongest possible terms, saying “I’m sorry” about ten times during her arrest.
She says binge drinking is a problem for her and she accepts being loud on the booze. She didn’t even know Miss Hardman, but she had a dispute with Mr. Burns about his young nephew sending inappropriate voice notes to Miss Kent’s daughter. This has been raised with Mr Burns and he has dealt with it appropriately, but there was still a discussion on this particular day.”
At Kent’s sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean KC told her, “Your conduct was inexcusable and appalling. You attacked a woman with her own vulnerabilities for no reason other than that you had liquidated yourself as a result of your encounter with Mr. Burns and your concern about his cousin.
“The photos of Amy’s injuries are shocking to see. You made a mess of her using the drill the way you did. This attack could have been deadly.’