A woman imprisoned for murdering her husband “should be treated as a victim” | UK news

A woman jailed for stabbing her husband to death after he followed her home “should be treated as a victim of sexual abuse”, her family and campaigners say.

Learna Cheng was found guilty of murdering Dylan Bacon and jailed for life in September 2023, but her case is being heard in the Court of Appeal today.

Chen, also known as Lee-Rose, was accused of murdering Mr Bacon at her flat in Old Swan, Liverpoolon March 14, 2022, after she and her grandfather had chatted with the 39-year-old in a pub hours earlier.

The court heard Mr Bacon’s sperm was later found on Chen’s clothes and her bra was damaged.

Cheng, who was 25 at the time, said she did not remember what happened in the flat and that the only reason she would have hit Mr Bacon was if he had tried to sexually assault her.

She said she would never have consented to sex with Mr Bacon and added that she had no attraction to him.

After Chen was jailed, Judge Neil Flewitt KC told her she had tried to “smear” Mr Bacon’s character to “avoid responsibility” for what she had done to him.

He also said he “strongly suspects” that something happened in the apartment that caused Cheng to lose her temper and that she was affected by the alcohol she had consumed.

Among those campaigning for Cheng ahead of the appeal is Nicola Mainwood, who works with Justice for Women (JFW) and the Center for Women’s Justice.

She told BBC this week: “This is a young, vulnerable woman who has never been in trouble with the police.

“But she’s been in an abusive relationship before and obviously she kind of believes something terrible must have happened for her to react to him like that.”

On the night of the attack, Cheng was drinking with her grandfather in the Old Swan pub in Liverpool when Mr Bacon walked up and joined them at their table.

The group seemed to be getting along well as Cheng took a sip of Mr. Bacon’s drink.

She was then seen to feel sick after a while and threw up on the table.

At that moment, her grandfather took her to his apartment next door.

Mr. Bacon was said to have left as well and went to another pub that overlooked the grandfather’s house.

Cheng was then seen leaving the flat and heading towards her own house a few streets away as Mr Bacon followed her.

About 90 minutes later, cameras outside Chen’s apartment showed the couple entering her home.

Two hours later, Mr Bacon staggered out of the premises after being stabbed several times.

Cheng’s father, Rodney Tucker, 52, believes his daughter was “persecuted” on the day she hit Mr Bacon.

He added that it is difficult for her to live in prison.

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