Sisters jailed for violent assault in Chester city centre

Charlotte and Katrina Whitham appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 17 December, where they were jailed for two years and eight months respectively.

Their sentencing comes after both Charlotte, of Wade Court, Chester, and Katrina, of Greenfield Lane, Chester, pleaded guilty to assault on a person causing actual bodily harm.

During their hearing, the court was told that on the night of Sunday 3 August, the sisters had been on a night out in the city centre with a friend, a 38-year-old woman, when they became involved in a verbal alternation on Watergate Street.

This altercation quickly became physical, with Katrina pulling the victims’ hair and Charlotte punching her in the head several times and then kneeing her to the face.

Following the initial assault, the sisters then left the scene. However, as they walked away, the victim said something to them and Katrina turned back on herself, running back over and grappling the woman to the floor.

Whilst Katrina pinned the victim to the ground using her bodyweight, Charlotte delivered 23 three blows to the victims’ head. She then attempted to break her right arm by stamping on it twice.

The victim was then left unconscious in the middle of the street after Katrina stamped on her head, with several members of the public coming over to help.

All of this had been captured on CCTV, with camera operators notifying Cheshire Police of the violent assault. Within 13 minutes of police being notified, the pair had been tracked down and were en route to custody. Whilst being arrested, was witnessed saying to police “oh yeah, I have done that”, referencing the assault.

During their interviews with officers, Katrina denied having admitted she had assaulted the victim. She went on to say that, whilst she had been involved in a physical altercation with the victim, she did not seriously injure her.

Charlotte answered no comment to all questions put to her and refused to watch the CCTV of her and her sister attacking the victim.

Despite their refusal to admit being involved in the assault, the sisters were subsequently charged and eventually pleaded guilty to the offence on Friday 7 November.

Detective Constable Tim Butler, who led the investigation into the incident:

“This nasty and violent assault doled out by Katrina and Charlotte Whitham resulted in someone they considered to be their friend left alone and unconscious in the middle of Chester city centre with very serious injuries.

“With that in mind, following the conclusion of this investigation, I welcome the sentences handed to the Witham sisters and I hope they spend their time behind bars to seriously consider their actions and what it means to be someone’s friend.

“This case goes to show how a snap decision to turn to violence can have serious repercussions. Their actions, obviously fuelled by the amount of alcohol they had consumed during the day of the incident, now means that they will be spending Christmas away from their respective families."