A YOUNG woman who was due to appear in court accused of stabbing her partner has been found dead at her Coventry home.
Danielle Ismay had been charged with unlawfully wounding her partner Matthew Grove, and was to have appeared at Warwick Crown Court later this month.
It was alleged that Ms Ismay (24) of Elm Close, Binley Woods, had stabbed Mr Grove to his upper arm during an incident between them on January 4.
But the court heard that Ms Ismay, who is believed to have hanged, was found dead at their home on Sunday March 1.
Ironically her case was listed at the court just three days later for an application to vary her bail conditions which, with her barrister and the court being unaware of her death, went ahead and was refused.
Informing the judge, Recorder Stephen Linehan QC, of Ms Ismay’s tragic death, prosecutor Alex Warren said a copy of the death certificate had been supplied to the court.
So Recorder Linehan ordered that the indictment should be marked ‘deceased.’
In June Last year Ms Ismay and Mr Grove were the victims of a terrifying robbery at the hands of escaped prisoner Lee Middleton after he had walked out of an open section of HMP Hewell near Redditch.
Two hours later at 11.40pm he and another man smashed their way into the couple’s home at the time, a first floor flat in Holbrook Lane, Coventry, which they later left as a result of the incident.
Wearing masks, and with Middleton wearing a knuckleduster and carrying a house brick while his accomplice had a knife, they charged into the living room where one of them demanded: “Where’s the keys; where’s the keys?”
As Miss Ismay pleaded with them not to hurt them, the two intruders demanded the couple’s phones and the keys to Mr Grove’s £10,000 Audi A3 Sport which was parked outside.
The other man went to search for the keys, and Middleton threatened Mr Grove: “Don’t move or I’ll smash your skull in.”
The couple handed over their phones, and the intruders ran out after grabbing the car keys and searching Miss Ismay’s handbag for cash, and drove off in the Audi.
Middleton was arrested shortly afterwards following a dangerous pursuit on the M40 and M42, and in September he was jailed for a total of 11-and-a-half years.
Following Ms Ismay’s death, messages of sympathy were left on her Facebook page and that of Mr Grove.
And he responded by writing: “Still can’t get my head round it. Don’t seem real. Love you always Danielle, you were my best friend for as long as I live. Will never forget you. Sorry was not with you wen u needed me. Love u always. Will never forget you.”
