Connah's Quay murder: Emma Berry jailed for stabbing Dean Bennett

A woman has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years for murdering a 31-year old man in his bedsit.

Emma Berry, 47, who lived at Quay House in Connah's Quay, was found guilty of stabbing Dean Bennett through the heart.

While handing down the sentence at Mold Crown Court, judge Rhys Rowlands told Berry Mr Bennett had "done nothing to you, and posed no threat to you."

She was sentenced to life and will serve a minimum of 16 years.

Berry stabbed Dean Bennett after she witnessed him and his girlfriend arguing.

Witnesses said Berry said: "I am going to stab him" before going into the communal kitchen to get a knife.

She then entered Mr Bennett's room, got on top of him and stabbed him through a tattoo of his eight-year-old daughter's name across his chest, and into his heart.

He was taken to the University Hospital Aintree by air ambulance, but couldn't be saved.

Mold Crown Court heard that both Emma Berry and Mr Bennett lived at Quay House in Connah's Quay, a former pub which had been converted into bed-sits with some communal flats.

On the morning Mr Bennett was killed, Berry was assaulted by her partner, who also lived at Quay House.

Mr Bennett's girlfriend, who was in the vicinity at the time, was also assaulted by the man.

Mr Bennett left the building and went to the pub asking if anyone could put him up, he didn't want to return to Quay House and wanted to get away from "a load of idiots" who he said showed "no respect for anyone's food or property."

He did however return later that afternoon, and following the argument with his partner, was attacked by Berry.

The court was told that Berry, was in an abusive relationship with her partner, was dependent on alcohol and was often intoxicated, including the day of the murder.

During police interviews she said she had drunk half a litre of vodka and two cans of strong lager, and had become scared when she saw Mr Bennett and his girlfriend arguing.

She said she didn't want the same thing that happened to her, to happen to the young woman.

Judge Rhys Rowlands said: "In drink, you sought out a knife and stabbed him" after an argument that "didn't involve physical violence and didn't involve you."

He said her actions caused "anguish" to Mr Bennett's family and that it was clear Berry, who had previous convictions for violence, was a "dangerous individual."

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Dean Bennett's former partner Lucy Morris, the mother of his daughter, said that he was an "amazing dad" and that her and her daughter's lives would "never be the same."

She also said the little girl suffered "nightmares" since her father's death and had become "angry and introverted."

On behalf of the family, Mr Bennett's brother, Dirk said that they were "heartbroken" and they would "walk through life with a shadow hanging over us."

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Bell, from North Wales Police Major Incident Team said: "this is an incredibly tragic case which saw a young man lose his life as a result of a single stab wound.

"Dean's family have understandably been left devastated by his death and this tragic case is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of knife crime."