Woman charged over death threats to ex’s new girlfriend

A woman who warned that her ex-partner’s new girlfriend “will pay with her life” has narrowly avoided jail.

43-year-old Janine Naomi Graham of Rockmills in Derry admitted one charge of sending threatening communications over two days in September last year.

The court heard that the messages were blunt, alarming and aimed squarely at the woman who had replaced her in a former relationship, reports Irish News US.

In a twist, Graham first contacted police to report that her former partner had threatened her. But matters quickly turned when she told officers she planned to “dance on the head” of his new girlfriend.

The woman later reported receiving messages from Graham warning she would “pay with her life”.

When questioned by police, Graham admitted sending the threats but said they were never meant to be acted on.

Her intention, she explained, was to irritate her former partner. Threatening him directly, she said, would not have had the desired effect.

District Judge Suzanne Rice was unimpressed. She described the offence as “very serious” and told Graham she stood on the “cusp” of a prison sentence.

Instead, the court handed down a two-month jail term suspended for two years and ordered Graham to pay £250 in compensation.