Vianey Manzanillo De La Cruz has been cleared of grievous bodily harm (GBH) by a jury at the Central Criminal Court. She was represented by Stella Harris of Garden Court Chambers.
The defendant was accused of having caused damage to her husband’s testicles during an altercation. Ms Manzanillo de la Cruz denied unlawful wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and argued that she had been acting in self-defence. Her evidence was that she caused the injury accidentally while trying to stop her husband, who was drunk, from dragging her around by the hair, some of which he had pulled out.
She was acquitted by the jury in just over 30 minutes.
The case has been widely reported in the press.
Stella Harris, defending, is a member of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team and is committed to representing young people, in particular young women. She was instructed in this case by Javed Chughtai of EBR Attridge Solicitors.