'HORNY GOAT WEED' WIFE'S SEX DATE WITH HER INTERNET LOVER; Stab trial told of plan to hook up with new man.

Byline: Donna Watson

A WIFE allegedly slit her husband's throat in a wood, then went off hoping to have sex with a stranger, a court heard yesterday.

Joanne Hale is accused of stabbing husband Peter after she fed him the aphrodisiac "horny goat weed" before leading him blindfolded into woods for a "fantasy sex romp".

A court was told Hale, 39, then drove to a station to meet up with internet lover Philip Sudol - a man she had never actually met.

Yesterday, married postal worker Sudol, from Leeds, told Bristol Crown Court he believed Hale was a nurse who had separated.

Apologised

He said: "I was married, but my situation at home was that my wife and I were not getting on."

Mr Sudol told the court his online conversations with Hale were "overtly sexual" and he believed sex was inevitable.

He said: "She apologised for being late due to the fact that her husband had phoned her and she had to speak to him. She told me that he had a knife to his throat.

"She said that he had nicked himself with the knife and that it had drawn blood and that he had said something to her about, 'You're going to get in trouble for this,' or, 'This is your fault'.

"It never came across to me as being a significant wound."

When they arrived at her home, police were waiting.

Hale, of Stapleton, Bristol, later told officers: "I can only assume this is a bizarre attempt by him to get me into trouble."

A blood-caked T-shirt worn by Peter Hale, 43, during the alleged attack was shown to the jury, with the phrase, "Peter, property of Jo," sprawled across the back in black marker pen.

Hale denies attempted murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues.

CAPTION(S):

INJURIES: Peter Hale ACCUSED: Joanne Hale