Overview
- Daniel Gaunt attacked his father on Sept 21 by boiling a kettle, adding a large amount of salt and pouring the hot water over the man's neck and chest, causing blistering burns.
- The victim was taken to hospital with superficial burns and in a victim impact statement described lasting emotional harm and a sense of betrayal.
- Gaunt fled after the assault, was placed on Northumbria Police’s most wanted list and was arrested on Oct 7 after trying to give a false name to officers.
- A jury found him unanimously guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent at a March trial, and on May 28 Judge Sarah Mallett sentenced him to 4½ years in prison with an extended licence of 4½ years and a ten-year restraining order protecting his grandmother.
- The court heard Gaunt has 26 previous convictions, including a 2024 offence of putting turpentine in his mother’s wine, defence counsel cited mental health and substance misuse, and police said the added salt showed clear premeditation that supported the dangerous-offender finding and public protection measures.