“I literally made peace with God,” the victim said of the attack.
A Vancouver woman initially charged with attempted murder of a romantic partner has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and received a two-year suspended sentence and two years of probation.
Rosemary Andrea Halldorson, 61, pleaded guilty July 12 before Vancouver Provincial Court Chief Judge Paul Dohm. She was initially charged with attempted murder, assault, aggravated assault and uttering threats.
In his victim statement the man expressed his fear.
“I literally made peace with God,” said the man, whose identity is covered by a publication ban. “Then the stinging started.”
Partner had ‘no idea she was mentally ill’
Halldorson’s former male partner said the couple spent a lot of time together and had common interests such as politics and sports.
He said he was fascinated by Halldorson and said the relationship later became the “darkest part of my entire life.”
“I had no idea she was mentally ill,” he said.
However, on the day of the February 19, 2023, incident, the man said Halldorson was “totally manic” and had set up a barricade of furniture in her apartment before the attack.
“I raised my hand. Then she cut my little finger,” he said. “I tried to grab the knife. The blood flowed throughout my body.”
Paranoia heightened by a ‘stressful, abusive’ relationship
In July 2023, defense attorney Andrew Nelson told another judge that the woman pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On November 1, Nelson asked the court to find Halldorson not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
The attorney said the man called Halldorson 10 times on the date of the crime and then gained access to her building.
Nelson said Halldorson’s stress and paranoia were “amplified by the stress and abuse in the relationship.”
“A confluence of factors led to her mental illness taking over at the time of these events,” Nelson said.
At one point she was treated for bipolar disorder, but it was later discovered that she had poisoning with lithium, a common bipolar medication.
The attorney said Halldorson has gone to great lengths to address her mental health issues.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said that if the woman does not comply with the terms of the sentence, she “will serve a prison sentence.”
“I have every confidence that she will continue to do well in the community,” Vancouver Provincial Court Judge James Sutherland said.