A 60-year-old grandmother will remain behind bars after being sentenced for the brutal stabbing attack on her daughter-in-law and grandson in Wollongong. Sarah appeared before Wollongong District Court on Friday via audiovisual link, having pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic violence reckless wounding during the incident on June 11, 2025. She claimed an altered mental state due in part to taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic.
Attack on Mother and Son
The court found Sarah had followed her 27-year-old daughter-in-law, Emily, while she was driving her 10-year-old son JP to a Judo class in Wongawilli, south of Wollongong, about 5.30pm. Sarah overtook the mother, forcing her to pull over, then put on nylon gloves and armed herself with a knife. She stabbed JP in the neck, and when Emily tried to intervene, Sarah stabbed her in the abdomen and armpit.
Emily told the court she remembered Sarah saying, “calm down, it’s just a joke.” JP recalled thinking he was “going to die … (and felt) scared and worried for his mother,” which brought Sarah to tears.
Aftermath and Arrest
Sarah ditched the knife while driving back to a nearby property where she lived in a granny flat adjacent to the home where her son and Emily lived with JP. Her son said she appeared “calm” while telling him what she had done. Police arrived soon after and arrested her. Paramedics rushed mother and son to hospital; JP’s jugular artery had been severed, requiring emergency surgery, while Emily also spent time in intensive care. Both were released days later.
Defense and Sentencing
During a police interview hours later, Sarah said, “I wanted to scare them, I was playing a game, I was joking. I just got the knife and I cut him … I don’t know what came over me.” She claimed she could not recall injuring Emily and “can’t comprehend what I’ve done.” In a previous court appearance, she cited “shaking and fuzziness” from Ozempic, prescribed after breaking her wrist and gaining weight, and said mixing it with anti-depressants and cholesterol medication affected her clarity and memory.
A doctor supported the claim, citing research that Ozempic could increase suicidal tendencies, but prosecutors argued there was no proof the drug impacted Sarah’s mental state. Judge Imad Abdul-Karim accepted the Crown’s submission, stating, “I accept the submission made by the Crown.” He emphasized the destructive impact on Emily and JP. Emily said she cannot return to work as a medical professional due to trauma, fear of sharp objects and blood, and “obtrusive memories” of holding her son’s neck to stem bleeding. Abdul-Karim noted, “The scars are a daily reminder of the moment that fractured their lives.”
Sarah’s defense argued for release under an intensive corrections order, citing genuine remorse and a first conviction. While Abdul-Karim accepted her remorse, he could not overlook the seriousness of the offending. He was “generous” in considering mitigating circumstances, including her father abandoning her and her decades-long battle with depression and anxiety.
Sarah was sentenced to a maximum of two years and three months behind bars, with a non-parole period of 15 months, backdated to her arrest. She is eligible for release on September 10.
