Julie Ann McIlwaine: Trial hears man threatened with killing children

The defendant told the police that she lived in a women’s refuge for six months to get away from her partner, but that she made the “worst decision of my life” when she returned to contact with him.

At the time of his death, James Crossley was on bail following an attack on Julie Ann McIlwaine.

Describing the night of the fatal attack, McIlwaine said his partner was “aggressive” and “bad-tempered”.

He took medication and went to sleep in bed next to his 10-month-old baby.

She told police that “everything took over me” and she thought about taking her own life.

“I had all these thoughts in my head. I didn’t know what was happening. I felt like a psychopath,” she said.

She described how she went to the kitchen, grabbed the larger knife and returned to the attic bedroom, where he slept next to the baby.

“I placed the baby at the end of the bed. I knew I had to get her out of the way. I didn’t want to get blood on her.”

She then stabbed Mr Crossley 10 times.

“I couldn’t stop, I just kept pushing (the knife) and pushing. He said ‘Julie Ann help me’ and I grabbed the baby and ran away.”

The trial continues.