Chesterfield female with violent past stabbed woman twice in neck in drug den row

Nicole Ryder's victim had retreated to a bedroom following a “confrontation” with her moments before the attack at a house where “controlled drugs were commonly used”.

Derby Crown Court heard Ryder then entered the room and stabbed her victim twice to the neck, before leaving with a male during the incident on June 25, 2023.

After being taken to hospital, Ryder’s female victim was found to have two one-centimetre wounds to her neck and a defensive wound on her finger. Fortunately no major arteries had been hit.

Ryder, 28, was located by police with her partner at just before 6am, telling officers, “I’ve got knife cuts all over me”.

The court heard Ryder’s victim was left with recurring dreams about having her throat cut. Ryder had six previous convictions for 11 offences, the court heard.

She had previously been handed a 24-month jail term suspended for 24 months for an incident during which she struck someone with a vodka bottle and then stabbed them twice in the shoulder.

The defendant, formerly of Baden Powell Avenue, Chesterfield, admitted wounding with intent for the latest incident. Ryder’s defence barrister said her client had been assessed as having a “low IQ”, had grown up in the care system and had been in relationships with “abusive partners”.

Recorder Jonathan Dee told Ryder she had committed “one of the most serious offences of violence in the criminal calendar”.

He said: “What’s really concerning is where you chose to stab her (the victim) – you don’t need me to tell you that you are lucky you are not facing a more serious charge. What’s concerning is that this is not the first time you have resorted to picking up a knife and attacking people with it.”

Ryder was jailed for four years with an extended licence period of two years and handed a 10-year restraining order.