Rochester man who stabbed himself is jailed for claiming wound was caused by former partner

A deceptive domestic abuser who stabbed himself in the chest, in a plot to get a former partner arrested, has been jailed for three years.

Wayne Slough intentionally sought to create a verbal altercation at the woman’s Longfield address, which he recorded on his mobile phone.

He claimed to Kent Police that the recording provided evidence of the assault taking place, but detectives were able to use the very same recording to prove he had given a false account.

The 33-year-old from Rochester, denied perverting the course of justice and was found guilty following a trial.

He initially received a two-year suspended sentence for the offence, imposed in November 2021, but this outcome was quashed by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday 19 January. An immediate custodial sentence was then imposed.

Confrontation

On the morning of 17 June 2017, Wayne Slough attended the victim’s address for a pre-arranged meeting and intentionally caused a verbal dispute between the two of them. He recorded the dispute on his phone, which he hid in a pocket.

The recording ended with Slough returning to his car and making a comment to suggest he was being approached by the victim. It is at this point that he is most likely to have stabbed himself, before driving away.

Around 50 minutes later, the offender called Kent Police from Darent Valley Hospital, where he received treatment for the wound. He told officers he had been assaulted by his former partner.

False evidence

Upon listening to the recording provided by Slough, detectives noticed he could be heard calmly returning to his car after the dispute had ended. In a calm voice, he then commented ‘here she comes’ followed by some expletives.

Slough claimed that it was at this point where he was punched with a downward strike towards his right shoulder. He then noticed the knife was lodged in his chest, which he pulled out before throwing it into the footwell of his car and driving away.

There was, however, no sign of a struggle on the recording, and nothing to suggest he had been approached by the woman.

A separate witness who observed the dispute was also able to confirm that, although an exchange of words had taken place, the victim did not assault Slough, nor did she approach him at his vehicle. She was also never seen in possession of a knife.

The woman’s DNA was also not found on the knife and the weapon did not match a set of kitchen knives at the property where she was living. It was, however, a match for a knife-set that Slough owned at his address.

Deceptive offender

Detective Constable Kathryn Lumsden-Earle, Kent Police’s investigating officer for the case, said: ‘Slough has shown himself to be an exceptionally deceptive liar who is willing to go to great lengths to try and exert control over the victim.

‘Offending within a domestic setting is reprehensible, and we will never show any tolerance towards such criminality. I am pleased that Slough has now been held to account and is in prison – it is the only acceptable outcome.

‘I hope the victim of this case can now feel a sense of justice, and I encourage anyone else who is affected by domestic abuse to contact us so we can provide support and pursue justice.’