South Gloucestershire woman found guilty of murdering boyfriend sentenced to life
Abigail White stabbed Bradley Lewis once in the heart after an argument at the pub
Last updated 24th Oct 2022
A young woman from South Gloucestershire who fatally stabbed her boyfriend after an argument at the pub has been sentenced to life in prison, after being found guilty of murder.
Abigail White, who is 24 and from Kingswood, will serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars.
stabbed 22-year-old Bradley Lewis once in the chest on the evening of March 25 of this year.
Mr Lewis was taken to hospital from White’s home but died later.
During the trial Bristol Crown Court heard how White knew Mr Lewis had cheated on her and struggled with anger issues.
The court heard how White and Mr Lewis would often argue and White would threaten him with serious violence.
Evidence was shared that she had sent Mr Lewis messages saying things including "I swear to god I'll stab you" and confiding in a friend that she would like to stab him and the girls with whom he had cheated but "I can't do prison time and leave my kids."
The court also heard how on March 19, several days before the fatal attack, White had stabbed Mr Lewis in the arm during an argument, for which he had sort treatment at a minor injuries unit.
The defence though, argued she should face the lesser charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility as she suffers with a personality disorder, which, they claimed, meant she was not fully aware of what she was doing at the time of the attack.
The fatal stabbing happened just minutes after they got back from a pub on March 25, where White had been arguing with Mr Lewis and another man.
Initially White claimed Mr Lewis had stabbed himself, but later admitted she had done it.
White herself said she had only meant to scare Mr Lewis, when she picked up the knife in her kitchen and she cannot explain why she stabbed him.
Hours prior to the fatal attack, Mr Lewis had told her their relationship was over.
The jury deliberated on their decision for more than 12 hours before reaching their verdict.
Bradley's family spoke to us outside court afterwards.
“Being here talking to you today is something that you never expect to happen to your family, but now that it has, it puts into perspective what other people go through and my thoughts, as they always have, reach out to them," Bradley's father Steve said.
"I do not feel that we have received justice as we have now got a life sentence.
“Brad’s death has brought so much sadness, not just to his family, but the many people that knew him.
"Proof of this was shown by the hundreds of people that attended his funeral and events that were arranged in his memory.
"His popularity has also been shown by the memorials that are on display at various locations in South Gloucestershire.
“We are in a sense lucky as a family to have, and still receive, overwhelming support from everyone that knew Brad, or knows us, and I thank those people for that."