A great grandfather suddenly "snapped" and attacked his step son-in-law with a bread knife after throwing bleach at him which was initially mistook for tea.
Enraged pensioner Charles Goucher, 80, turned up at the house and pulled out the knife after being "bombarded" with news about the cost of living crisis and "something in him snapped."
He also stabbed his stepdaughter after she heard somebody shout "oh God, he has a knife" and rushed to help her husband.
The couple had been looking after Goucher during Covid as well as his wife who had since died.
"We have done nothing but be there for him. I did not think that I would be laid on my back fighting for my life," his son-in-law said.
The woman saved his life by bravely battling with blood-covered Goucher but she suffered knife wounds during a scuffle, reports Hull Live.
Her husband feared he was a "goner" and would have been killed if she had not come to the rescue in the nick of time, Hull Crown Court heard.
Goucher, now 81, of Bransholme, Hull, admitted two offences of wounding with intent and another of possessing a knife on October 18.
A charge of attempting to murder his son-in-law was dropped.
Prosecutor Charlotte Baines said police received a 999 call from Goucher's daughter saying that her stepfather had "lost it" after he arrived at her home.
She had returned home from shopping at 10.30am and was putting the items away when Goucher arrived.
Her husband let him in but she heard him shouting "what are you doing?"
Goucher shouted "I am going to f***ing kill you, you b*****d" and threw something at her husband that she thought was tea but turned out to be bleach.
Her husband shouted: "Oh, God, he has a knife."
Goucher pulled out the bread knife, with serrated edge, from his pocket and attacked the husband with it.
The bleach in a bottle spilled all over the floor and the two men grappled.
Goucher was making stabbing motions over the husband and there was a scuffle.
Neither of the couple could get the knife out of Goucher's hand and his stepdaughter was stabbed.
Image:
Hull Live/MEN)Ms Baines said: "She described there being blood everywhere."
It was said that Goucher shouted: "You have robbed me. You have conned me."
However, there was no evidence that they had, in fact, done anything wrong – and quite the opposite.
The woman believed that Goucher was going to kill her and her husband but the couple managed to get outside.
The son-in-law tried to stop Goucher leaving but the pensioner managed to get out by kicking the door as the police were arriving.
He was found next to the front door.
Ms Baines said: "His face was covered in blood."
Goucher had a large piece of wood with him and was told to put it down. He also pulled the knife from his waistband and put it down.
The pensioner was taken to hospital, accompanied by police.
His family were treated at Hull Royal Infirmary.
The son-in-law had a laceration to his wrist and bruises and his skin was reddened because of the bleach, while his wife had bruises and wounds to her arm.
Ms Baines said: "The injuries were mercifully not as severe as they could have been."
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The son-in-law later said he thought that Goucher was going to kill him and that he was a "goner". He had known Goucher for more than 45 years.
"I close my eyes and he is there. The nightmare I have to relive when I walk into that kitchen remains. I should not have to live like that. I don't feel safe. I have been left jumpy and on edge at every noise."
The man said he felt "betrayed and bewildered" as to why Goucher would do it to them.
He added: "It has changed us as a family. I want to thank my wife, to whom I owe my life."
It was said the son-in-law was suffering from disturbed sleep and "night terrors" and would have mental scars for the rest of his life.
His wife said: "It has had a huge impact on my life, both emotionally and physically."
She no longer felt happy at home and was always on edge and jumpy.
Just the day before the incident, Goucher had been sitting at their table with a cup of tea and thanking them for all that they had done.
Since the incident, she had not been able to sleep properly and woke frequently with nightmares and flashbacks of Goucher brutally attacking her husband with the knife.
She had scars on her arm, which would be a constant reminder of the knife incident for the rest of her life.
"As a family, we are suffering from a deep sense of betrayal from someone who was supposed to be family," she said.
Dale Brook, defending, said: "It's a tragic case. It almost beggars belief that it happened in the first place."
Goucher's wife died after they had been together for 50 to 60 years and her death had a huge impact on him.
He was "bombarded" with news about the cost of living and became "obsessed and worried" about his finances and how he would cope.
This "spiralled out of control" and he did not know where to turn.
"Something in him snapped," said Mr Brook.
"It almost defies belief that he would commit this offence. He has lost his home, he has lost his family. He struggles to understand, now, why or how he committed the offence.
"He is sorry that this happened. He is sorry to his stepdaughter and his son-in-law. He accepts that he has turned all their lives upside down."
Goucher had been a "much-loved great-grandfather" but now "all that is lost". He had no previous convictions.
Addressing the pensioner, Judge John Thackray KC said: "You launched the most horrific attack and you did so in their own home, a place where they were entitled to feel safe and secure.
"I have no doubt that your attack has had upon them a profound effect.
"It may be that they never recover from the effects of your offending. The court wishes them well. Only good fortune prevented the injuries being more serious.
"You attended at their home armed with bleach, a bread knife and a piece of wood and you launched a determined and persistent attack upon them."
Goucher used a "highly dangerous weapon" and there was a degree of premeditation.
"The injuries could have been so much worse," said Judge Thackray.
Goucher was jailed for three years and handed an indefinite restraining order.
As he left the secure dock to be taken down to the cells, he showed no emotion and stared straight ahead.
