A gifted pianist from East Sussex has been sentenced to seven years in prison after stabbing her boyfriend in the groin and pouring bleach on his face when he refused to have sex with her, a court heard.
Marlena Meczynska-Shiibashi, 38, attacked her 50-year-old boyfriend in her Hastings flat after he turned her down for sex. Lewes Crown Court was told that she waited until he had fallen asleep before pouring bleach on his face and stabbing him in the groin, narrowly missing his penis. The court heard that the couple had been in a volatile, on-and-off relationship since 2011.
During her trial, Meczynska-Shiibashi admitted she “wanted to harm his penis but missed.” She pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The court was told that Meczynska-Shiibashi had invited her boyfriend over after family members expressed concern for her. The couple initially had sex, but when Meczynska-Shiibashi failed to climax, the boyfriend left to complete some errands before returning to her flat to watch a movie. Later that night, when Meczynska-Shiibashi attempted to initiate sex again and he refused, she launched her violent attack.
The victim told the court that he was abruptly woken when he felt liquid being poured on his face, quickly realizing it was bleach. Blinded and disoriented, he attempted to find his clothing before feeling warm liquid running down his leg. He initially thought he had wet himself in fear, but soon realized he was bleeding from a stab wound to his groin.
Meczynska-Shiibashi, enraged and brandishing a knife, continued her attack as the victim screamed for help. He managed to fend her off with a cardboard box and fled the flat, where he was found naked and bleeding in the hallway by the landlord.
During her arrest, Meczynska-Shiibashi asked police if she had hit his genitals with the knife. In court, she admitted to getting “massively drunk and stoned” before grabbing a kitchen knife and bleach to assault him.
While she claimed to have acted in self-defence and alleged she had been a victim of serious sexual abuse, the court found no evidence to support these claims. The court also concluded that Meczynska-Shiibashi had been coercive and controlling in the relationship.
Judge Christine Laing KC described Meczynska-Shiibashi as “a liar and a very manipulative person” who used false allegations of abuse as an excuse for her violent behaviour. In addition to her seven-year prison sentence, she was given four years on extended licence to protect the public and an indefinite restraining order forbidding her from contacting her ex-boyfriend.
