A vicious thug who stabbed his long-term partner with a vegetable knife during a frenzied attack has been jailed indefinitely.
Irish-born James Mulhall, 39, is the brother of the notorious ‘Scissor Sisters’, Linda and Charlotte Mulhall, who are serving prison sentences for killing their mother Kathleen’s partner Farah Swaleh Noor in 2005.
A court heard Margaret McNamee had both her lungs punctured after receiving 12 stab wounds to her chest, face, hand and leg.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC handed Mulhall an indefinite sentence for public protection. He must serve at least four years and four months before he can be considered for parole.
Mulhall carried out the drunken attack on September 30 last year at their home on Eastwood Gardens, Stanks, Leeds.
The judge told him: “You are a man who clearly when in drink can be violent. The force of the attack had bent the blade of the knife. It is a miracle that your partner was not more seriously hurt.”
Mulhall, who pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, was seen kneeling over Ms McNamee holding the kitchen knife with both hands and stabbing her with it.
Mulhall has served prison sentences in Ireland. One was for punching a man who later died when Mulhall went to rescue his sister after she had been abducted.
He also served a sentence for causing death by dangerous driving after his friend was killed.
Robberies carried out in 2006 and 2007 were committed when he was armed with a knife. The court heard Mulhall was forced to move his family to West Yorkshire after a dispute in Ireland which saw his partner’s home burnt down.
His sisters, from Dublin, killed and dismembered the Kenyan immigrant Mr Noor with a Stanley knife wielded by Charlotte and struck with a hammer by Linda.
His head and penis were sliced off and the rest of his corpse dismembered by the women and dumped in Dublin’s Royal Canal.