Trial of the facts begins over boys' stabbings

A trial of the facts has begun after a woman was accused of wounding two boys with intent.

Deemed unfit to stand for a full trial, Ann Marie McEvoy, 41, of Church Walk, Colchester, was arrested following an incident at a flat in Fold Hill, Friskney, near Skegness, on 30 November 2022.

Lincoln Crown Court, sitting at Lincoln Magistrates' Court, heard McEvoy had been "uncooperative" in letting police inside the property for a welfare check.

Two boys were found with stab wounds after police forced entry into the flat following an eight-hour stand-off.

The court heard officers were sent on 29 November to negotiate with McEvoy, but she produced a large kitchen knife when an officer went to the front door at about 15:30 GMT.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, prosecuting, told the jury that for some hours, McEvoy refused to grant officers entry to the flat.

More police were sent to the scene, and a firearms unit forced its way in shortly after 01:00 GMT the next day.

Mr Cranmer-Brown told the court that McEvoy was found in a bedroom holding a large kitchen knife, with the two boys lying on the bed and bleeding from their injuries.

McEvoy was tasered and fell to the ground. The boys were taken into the front room and given first aid before being taken to hospital.

The boys, who were aged 10 at the time and cannot be named because of their ages, sustained several stab wounds but neither was believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

A jury, which was sworn in by Judge Simon Hirst on 24 June, will determine whether McEvoy carried out the offences in a trial of the facts, which is expected to last three days.

A trial of the facts involves the prosecution setting out the case in front of a jury, but the defendant does not have to play a part in proceedings or be present in court.

The jury decides if the defendant committed the alleged offences, but their verdicts cannot result in criminal convictions.

At a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court in April, the judge deemed McEvoy unfit to stand trial or enter a plea as she was suffering from a mental disability.

The fact-finding hearing continues.

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to e[email protected]