Upheld: Woman convicted of attempted manslaughter

On Thursday, a woman in her 40s attempted to have her conviction for attempted murder of her boyfriend overturned in the High Court in Nuuk. The woman has been in custody for almost a year. The High Court chose to uphold the district court's sentence of four years in prison.

The stabbing took place on March 14, 2025, when, according to witnesses, the woman stabbed her boyfriend three times in the head with a pocket knife.

The defendant continues to deny her guilt because, according to her, she cannot remember anything about the incident. According to the defendant, she and the victim had a turbulent relationship leading up to the stabbing in the village of Sermiligaaq near Tasiilaq.

Several witnesses testified in court that a few minutes before the stabbing, the woman shouted to her boyfriend: “I’ll kill you.”

Shortly afterwards, she stabbed him three times with a pocket knife, causing heavy bleeding and injuries that required treatment. However, the stab wounds were not life-threatening, so the man was able to go home after being treated by health personnel.

Four months or four years

The defense sought to get the charge – attempted manslaughter – off the table by referring to judgments in cases from Denmark.

He argued that the wounds were superficial, and the incident as described should not be considered attempted murder, but instead be considered violence. This should result in a sentence of two to four months, he believed.

The prosecutor determined that the three stab wounds combined with threats to kill must be considered attempted murder. The High Court followed the prosecutor's assessment and upheld the sentence of four years in prison.