Shaunagh Downing, the Ammanford woman accused of stabbing Daniel Jonas, has been found not guilty on each of the three charges following her four-day trial at Swansea Crown Court.

The jury returned their unanimous verdicts earlier this morning (Monday).

The 22-year-old was found not guilty on two counts of wounding Daniel Jonas and on a third charge of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, namely a knife.

Throughout her trial, Ms Downing resolutely maintained her innocence.

“I just wanted to speak to him,” she said. “I felt upset at what he’d been saying about me.

"I know that in those Snapchat messages I used some really awful, awful words, but I didn’t intend any meaning behind them.”

Ms Downing said that when she arrived at Dan Jonas’ property near Dol y Dderwen, Ammanford, Jonas asked her to stand at the side gate. He then grabbed her by her arm, spun her round and held her from behind. She saw his right arm move over her shoulder and neck and he was holding a knife.

 Mr Jonas’s grip was so tight that Ms Downing was forced to bite him twice to the arm in order to release his grasp.

The court was shown a number photographs which revealed bruising and marks which the defendant sustained whilst being held by Dan Jonas.

“And then I remember running back home,” she said. “But at no point was I in control of that knife.”

Her barrister, James Hartson, described Ms Downing’s trial as ‘short but intense’ and accused the Prosecution of using 'forcefulness' towards her during her examination.

“She was just 22 years of age when she was arrested for these serious allegations,” he said.

“And the key question is did she take a knife to Dan Jonas’s house, and did she stab him with it?”

Mr Hartson reminded the jury of inconsistencies in Mr Jonas’ evidence and the fact that he had admitted drinking a considerable amount of alcohol that night as well as taking illegal drugs.

“We’ve heard that this is a woman with a big heart, so much patience and with a caring nature, he said.

“ She’s been described as genuine, gentle, polite and honest and, in her profession as a nursery nurse, is someone that people can trust their babies with.

“The evidence is insufficient for you to charge her of being guilty of these offences.”