Stiletto Girl walks free (and good on her)

A woman who kicked her boyfriend in the face, puncturing his eye and brain with her stiletto heel, has walked free from court.

Staci Hargreaves burst into tears when the judge ruled she may have been acting in self defence and halted her trial.

He ordered the jury to find her not guilty of grievous bodily harm on her ex-boyfriend, 6ft 2in Gavin Taylor, who has convictions for assault.

The court heard he was also jailed over the drowning of a man in a canal four years ago.

As she left court, the mother-of-two said: “I am relieved and all I want to do now is get my life together again.”

Miss Hargreaves, 34, was arrested in February after lashing out with her feet during a drunken row in a taxi, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Her three-inch stiletto heel pierced Mr Taylor’s left eye.

He cried out “my eye, my eye”, before slumping unconscious in his seat.

Mr Taylor, 28, was taken to hospital where it was revealed the heel had smashed his eye socket and gone into his brain, bursting a blood vessel.

At one stage surgeons feared he might die but he has since made a recovery, and did not even lose the sight in his eye.

The jury had heard Mr Taylor was a violent and jealous man when drunk and on at least two occasions had left Miss Hargreaves with black eyes.

And they were told that during the evening in question, Mr Taylor had picked up his girlfriend and carried her across the street on his shoulder.

He later slapped her face, knocking her to the floor.

But unlike the judge, jurors were unaware that he had several convictions for assault and threatening behaviour.

Judge Peter Hunt said: “There is no evidence to lead you to the conclusion that the defendant was not acting in instinctive, reasonable self defence.”

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