Funeral wake turned violent when boozed-up wife attacked woman she believed wrecked her marriage

Carmen Morrison had attended the service for her former mother-in-law after splitting from husband Keith, a court heard

                          

A funeral wake erupted into violence when a boozed-up wife attacked a woman she believed had caused her marriage break-up.
Carmen Morrison, 44, had attended the service for her former mother-in-law at Aston Hall Social Club after splitting from husband Keith.

But Birmingham Crown Court heard the mum, of Bromford Drive, Hodge Hill,
saw red after spotting Linda Loughrey - who she blamed for her marriage breakdown.
Gary Cook, prosecuting, said Morrison grabbed Miss Loughrey around the neck and punched her before they both fell to the floor, where she rained more blows down on her and pulled out a patch of her hair.

           

       Convicted: Morrison admitted two charges of assault

The Co-op worker then attacked her husband - who described her as looking like a “mad woman” - and pushed a pint glass into his face, causing it to smash.
He received a cut to his chin which required three stitches.
Morrison, who had previously admitted two charges of assault, was handed a 12 month community order and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid community work and pay £300 costs.
Judge Francis Laird said Morrison’s behaviour had been “disgraceful” when her emotions had erupted on October 23 last year.


But he accepted she was remorseful and that what she had done was out of character.
The court heard Morrison had been with her husband Keith for 25 years when they split up.
She had been close to his mother and when she died had asked him to ensure that Linda Loughrey did not attend the funeral wake.
But when she discovered she had turned up she exploded with anger, the court heard.

 

 Judge Laird said: “You suspected your husband, a man you had been with since you were teenagers and had been married for 25 years, was engaged in an extra marital affair with Miss Loughrey.
“Whether that was true or not I need not determine.
"But I accept you genuinely believed that was the case and you had reacted very badly to that situation and I accept that at this time your life had fallen around your ears.
“Coincidentally at the same time your mother-in-law was extremely ill. It seems you were reasonably close to her and she died.
“So at the funeral you had asked your husband to ensure that Miss Loughrey did not attend but she did.
“You had been drinking reasonably heavily that day at the wake and that probably contributed to your loss of self-control.
“Your emotions erupted and you confronted Miss Loughrey.”

The court heard Morrison had worked at the local Co-op for a number of years and was well respected within the community.
Kevin Waddingham, defending, said: “This lady is of positive good character brought low by a sustained period of stress which culminated in this explosion of behaviour for a couple of minutes.”

Source: Uk Mirror