Boxing Day family row ended with dad stabbing his own sons

A father stabbed his own two sons during a Boxing Day row when they hit back at his use of transphobic and homophobic slurs.

Robert Mitchell had been drinking with his two boys and his partner at their home in Wickersley on December 26, 2020, when the conversation turned to gay and transgender rights.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the 48-year-old and his partner had made derogatory comments which one of their sons took offence to stating he had a number of gay or transgendered friends.

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Prosecutor Eddison Flint said: “The defendant made comments that he did not like or understand these ‘types of people’.”

Mitchell’s other son agreed with his brother and told his dad and stepmother to stop being “c***s”.

Mr Flint added: “The defendant took exception to this and stood up, there was then a confrontation between the defendant and his son.

“The pair then began to fight resulting in a grapple, the pair ending up on the floor.

“Once they had gotten up again, the defendant, who was noted by his son to be a strong man who has previously trained in jujitsu, then picked the complainant up and slammed him to the ground causing pain to his back.”

The struggle seemed to have eased with Mitchell signifying this by “tapping out”.

However, Mitchell stood up and headed for the kitchen and returned with a small kitchen knife.

One of his sons told him to put the knife back, but he instead plunged it into his chest and torso.

His other son had tried to restrain his stepmother but she complained of being unable to breathe, prompting Mitchell to turn the knife onto him.

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He stabbed him twice in the torso and twice in the arm pit.

The pair of brothers ran out of the house and desperately knocked on a neighbour’s door for help.

One of his sons spent three nights in hospital and feared one of the stab wounds had perforated his bowel. Thankfully it hadn’t, but a victim impact statement added that the second stab wound was close to his heart.

His other son said he was willing to reconcile with his father and stepmother until they tried to shift the blame onto him and his brother.

Mitchell, of Warde-Aldam Crescent, Wickersley, admitted two counts of unlawful wounding and was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.