A Masters student has faced court accused of slashing her boyfriend with knives in a fit of rage after discovering he had been texting his ex.
Postgraduate student at the University of Technology Sydney Jacinta Angel Ferraro allegedly attacked her boyfriend with two kitchen knives at their western Sydney home in Parramatta shortly after 7pm on June 9.
The alleged attack occurred after Ferraro went through his phone and discovered text messages between him and his ex-partner from 15 days earlier, according to Supreme Court documents.
“The defendant collected two kitchen knives, a serrated bread knife with a 19cm blade and a paring knife with a 11cm blade,” police said.
‘He (the man) raised his hands as the defendant advanced towards him with a knife in each hand.’
Police allege Ferraro picked up the knives and slashed her boyfriend, causing deep lacerations to the bone in his arm and down to his pinky finger.
Ferraro then allegedly threw several objects at her boyfriend and threw a PlayStation 4 gaming console and an internet router off the balcony.
The alleged victim was taken by friends to the hospital, where she underwent surgery.
Master’s student Jacinta Angel Ferraro (pictured) allegedly attacked her boyfriend with two kitchen knives
Hospital staff contacted police the next day, who searched the man’s unit and found dried blood on the floor and blood-stained knives.
Ferraro was arrested in Woollahra, in Sydney’s east.
She was charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and wilful or reckless destruction or damage of property.
All three charges are domestic violence offenses.
Police allege Ferraro, who has not pleaded guilty, claimed she inflicted the injuries on her boyfriend in an act of self-defense.
However, he declined to give further details and did not participate in the interview.
After being denied bail by police and a local court magistrate, the Supreme Court granted him bail last week. The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Crown’s brief opposed bail, arguing that it would pose a “serious and unacceptable risk of harm to the community and the complainant.”
Ferraro is also accused of throwing objects at her boyfriend. She also allegedly threw his PlayStation 4 gaming console and an internet router off a balcony.
“The applicant appears to display a propensity towards violent and aggressive behaviour,” the Crown told the court.
Ferraro’s defense attorney, Kon Papanicolaou, said in accepting the prosecution’s case that the boyfriend’s injury “was not serious, being a cut to the victim’s right pinky finger that caused a deep laceration.”
“Following instructions from the plaintiff, she locked herself in the bathroom and the victim attempted to enter,” Papanicolaou wrote.
‘This is corroborated by the fact that the bathroom door was pierced and there is a hole in it… There is a possibility that self-defense may be raised.’
Mr Papanicolaou also said pre-existing mental health conditions could make a prison sentence inappropriate and said the long delays currently plaguing the legal system could make any time spent in custody awaiting trial “a heavy burden”.
Ferraro has been diagnosed with complex ADHD, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Judge Hament Dhanji granted Ferraro bail but imposed strict conditions.
He must report to police daily, surrender his passport, obey a 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew while living with his mother, abstain from drugs and alcohol and obtain a medical and mental health care plan.
Ferraro must also abide by the restraining order imposed on him, which prevents him from communicating with the alleged victim.
Jacinta Angel Ferraro was recently released on bail and will appear in court again later this month.
Ferraro has not yet entered a plea to any of the charges and is scheduled to appear in court on September 26.
In her Instagram bio, Ferraro states that she is pursuing a master’s degree in social enterprise and nonprofits.
Her most recent post, of Ferraro attending a party for electronic music duo Showtek, is dated June 10, hours after the alleged attack.
She is also President of the student-run UTS Events Society and has DJ’d at several events under the name Angelic Delight.
“I’ve mentally distanced myself from my emotions and focused solely on the love of music,” she wrote in a post earlier this year.
