Mum is given three weeks to prepare children for parting

Jones, 38, who has a seven-year-old son Stephen, and daughter Kira, three, was released on bail for three weeks on the condition that she co-operates with a pre-sentence report, following a plea from defence barrister Neil Ford.

"She wishes to have the time to prepare her two children for what is to come," he said.

The family of mechanic David MacKinnon were ordered out of court after they applauded as his killer was found guilty of inflicting the single fatal stab wound last May.

Last Thursday, a jury at Bristol Crown Court found Jones guilty of manslaughter in a unanimous verdict, which was followed by spontaneous clapping from her victim's family.

"This is not a place for public entertainment," said Judge Thomas Crowther, before telling them to leave the courtroom.

Sentencing was adjourned until May 16, for the preparation of the report, but Judge Crowther told Jones that her punishment would inevitably be a term of imprisonment.

Mr MacKinnon was killed with a kitchen knife by a single, 12cm wound to the chest in the early hours of May 28 last year at the house he shared with Jones in Wood Lane, Chippenham.

Earlier in the trial Jones told the jury she did not want Mr MacKinnon to die. But the jury had heard they had a stormy relationship which had included violence in the past.

Jones, who had pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder on the grounds of self defence, and Mr MacKinnon had spent the evening of May 27 having a drink with friends in Chippenham. She said that, before going out, she and Mr MacKinnon had said they loved each other.

"We went home around midnight. I had had enough to drink and I didn't want to suffer a hangover at work the next day. I said: 'Dave, I want to go'," Jones told the jury.

Jones claimed that when they returned home, Mr MacKinnon went into the living room to watch television while she made them both a hot drink. She then says she called her partner into the kitchen to drink his. "I didn't want anything to ruin the new sofas in the lounge," she said.

"Eventually he came through and he wasn't very happy because he couldn't watch television. He said he was unhappy and that I was a miserable bitch.

"I said 'well if you're not happy with me, then go'. I opened the kitchen door to see if he wanted to go but he would not go and the argument carried on. I said I was going to call the police and picked the phone up.

"When he had walked from the living room to the kitchen, I don't know how he did it, but he caught me in the face."

When asked if she had shouted 'I'm going to f***ing kill you. You're dead', Jones replied: "I can't remember saying anything. I didn't want him dead. He came back towards me and I lifted the knife up. I can't remember how I was holding it. He lunged himself, he caught the knife."

She added: "He fell on the knife. It had gone in him. It just all happened so quickly."

Defence barrister Neil Ford asked Jones if she had any intention of harming Mr MacKinnon and she replied no. Seconds later she added: "If it cut his skin that was probably all I wanted to do."

When Mr Ford asked Jones how she felt when she realised her partner was dead, Jones replied: "I was gutted. I still am. I miss him a lot and so do the children."

The court was told told tests revealed that at the time of his death, Mr MacKinnon had 138mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, while at 4am on May 28, Jones had 155mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit for driving is 80mg.

Earlier in the trial the jury heard from neighbours who said they often heard the couple arguing. On the night of the stabbing, next door neighbour Denise Brown said she heard Jones screaming: "I'm going to kill you. You're dead."

Jones, who had been on bail and living in Cheltenham with her two young children throughout the trial, claimed Mr MacKinnon was attacking her, and pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of self-defence.

Mrs Brown's 21-year-old daughter Sarah Witts said she was woken by a couple shouting and banging. She told the court: ''She said 'I'm going to f***ing kill you, I f***ing will.'

"This was about five minutes after I heard the shouting start. Then I heard something else, it sounded like 'go on then' but I am not quite sure. It was a male voice, I presumed it was Dave.

"After a bit of time I heard someone crying and I heard her saying 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it'.''

Brian Tate, who was one of the group of friends who went out drinking with the couple hours before the killing, told the court: "We often went out drinking together and Jane was fine. She got on well with everyone. I think Jane wanted to leave the pub but I don't know why. I didn't notice any difference of opinion between them about leaving."

Another friend, Richard Brooks, from Corsham, had seen the couple three weeks before the tragedy and said he noticed nothing unusual.

"They were just like any ordinary couple. From time to time they argued like all couples do, but I never saw Jane show Dave any physical aggression or him to her."

An acquaintance of the couple, Timothy Rooney, gave the couple a lift home on the night of the stabbing when they were unable to get a taxi.

"Dave told me he wanted to get Jane home because he thought she'd had too much to drink. We were having a laugh and they were both joking when they got out of the car."