Woman Convicted After Attacking Retired Teacher Who Ordered Her Out of His Home

A woman who attacked a retired teacher with a meat cleaver after he asked her to vacate his home has been found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Veyella Peters, who is in her early 30s, was convicted following a judge-only trial that heard how the victim, a man in his 60s, sustained deep lacerations to his neck and face during the late-night attack on 28 November 2023.

Medical evidence presented to the court revealed the severity of the injuries. A doctor testified that wounds to the victim’s neck were approximately 3cm deep, with cuts to the face also described as deep. The medical expert told the court that severe force would have been required to inflict such injuries.

The court heard that the pair had met on a bus and subsequently developed an intimate relationship. Peters eventually moved into the man’s home, but the living arrangement came under strain when he secured employment at a Christian school.

The retired teacher told the court he had informed Peters from the outset that if his job application proved successful, she would need to find alternative accommodation. Following a successful interview, he asked her to leave.

When Peters failed to vacate the property, the complainant removed the door to her room in an apparent attempt to compel her departure. That evening, he went to bed with his own bedroom door unlocked.

In his testimony, the victim described waking to find Peters on top of him. He said he felt blood running from his neck and pushed her off, but sustained additional cuts during the struggle.

The complainant told the court that he agreed not to contact police if Peters would allow him to drive himself to hospital for treatment.

However, he alleged that she refused this request and used his mobile phone, claiming she was calling emergency services. He later discovered no such call had been made when he checked his phone’s call log.

Peters presented a markedly different version of events. She claimed the victim had been her teacher when she was a secondary school student, suggesting he had acted as a predator.

The defendant told the court that the man had made inappropriate sexual advances, which prompted her to lock her bedroom door. She said he had told her she needed to leave because the school that employed him had discovered he was living with “a young girl” whilst unmarried.

Peters testified that upon returning home at 9pm on the day of the incident, she found her bedroom door had been forced open. When she confronted the victim about this, she claimed he told her he had ways and means of opening doors in his house.

According to Peters’ account, a physical altercation ensued during which she grabbed a knife and swung it in self-defence. She alleged the victim told her he could deal with the woundsbecause of his background as a biology teacher.

Peters insisted she had not intended to hurt him and expressed remorse for the incident.

Presiding over the case, the judge found the complainant to be a credible witness. The court noted that whilst the victim admitted to having an intimate relationship with Peters, he firmly denied being a predator. He stated he had no recollection of ever teaching her and pointed out that he had never taught geography, the subject Peters claimed he taught her.

The judge rejected the self-defence argument and found Peters guilty of the charge.

Peters is scheduled to be sentenced on 30 January 2026.