Too ‘Smart’ For Jail? Oxford Student Who Stabbed Her Boyfriend Could Be Spared Jail Because She Has ‘Extraordinary’ Talent

An Oxford University student who stabbed her boyfriend could be spared jail because she has ‘extraordinary’ talent and it would ruin her career.

Lavinia Woodward, 24, stabbed her boyfriend in the leg with a bread knife before throwing a laptop, a glass and a jam jar at him, during a row fuelled by drink and drugs.

Woodward, a student at Christ Church College at Oxford, met her boyfriend, who goes to Cambridge University, on Tinder.

The aspiring heart surgeon pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at Oxford Crown Court, an offence that would normally result in a custodial sentence.

But Judge Ian Pringle has delayed sentencing for four months, and indicated that Woodward may not be jailed because of her potential.

The court heard her college will allow her to return in October because she ‘is that bright’ that her articles have been published in medical journals.

The judge said: ‘It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinary able young lady from not following her long-held desire to enter the profession she wishes to, would be a sentence which would be too severe.

‘What you did will never, I know, leave you but it was pretty awful, and normally it would attract a custodial sentence, whether it is immediate or suspended.’

Woodward wasn’t in court as she is currently living in Milan, Italy, with her mother.

The court heard that drug addict Woodward met her now ex-boyfriend on Tinder and that her behaviour ‘deteriorated’ at the time of the attack on September 30.

The boyfriend called Woodward’s mother on Skype for help, but Woodward punched him in the face before picking up the bread knife and stabbing him in the leg.

She hurled a laptop, a glass and a jam jar at him before scratching and stabbing herself with the knife.

Defence QC James Sturman said Woodward’s dream of becoming a surgeon was ‘almost impossible’ because her conviction will have to be disclosed.

He said his client had ‘a very troubled life’.

Woodward will be sentenced on September 25. She was given a restraining order and told to remain drug-free and not to re-offend.