A mother permanently scarred her childhood friend in a vicious attack during a row over her son’s attempted murder of an ex-Manchester City footballer.
Diane Moran, 45, had been confiding in Donna Godsell, 46, before turning on her at a mutual friend’s flat on July 26, 2023 – leaving Ms Godsell with horrific injuries.
The pair were discussing the attempted murder charge faced at the time by Moran’s son Michael Canning, who had appeared in court just hours earlier.
Canning had savagely attacked Patrick Kubacak, then 22, a month earlier, stabbing the the former footballer, who was a complete stranger to him, 32 times and leaving him critically injured.
Kubacak was left needing nine hours of surgery to save his life after his lungs, liver and other organs were damaged in the murderous assault. Canning was later jailed for 20 years over the attempted murder.
Just a month after his first court appearance, police were called on his mother after she attacked Ms Godsell, screaming: ‘You f*****g stupid bitch. I’m going to kill you.’
Moran, from Urmston, Greater Manchester, smashed a glass tumbler into the right cheek of her friend after Ms Godsell made a comment about his criminal charges.
The victim suffered horrific injuries after the glass penetrated through her skin into her mouth. In the aftermath she was left with missing teeth, partial facial paralysis that means she can no longer smile fully, and a permanent scar on her cheek.
Diane Moran (pictured) permanently scarred her childhood friend in a vicious attack during a row over her son’s attempted murder of an ex-Manchester City footballer
She had been confiding in Donna Godsell (pictured), 46, before turning on her at a mutual friend’s flat on July 26, 2023
Michael Canning was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years imprisonment in January 2024 over the attempted murder
In a statement, mother of two Ms Godsell who lives in Salford, revealed she had since been diagnosed with PTSD and is unable to leave her home on shopping trips without a carer.
She said: ‘I now struggle to look in the mirror without crying. Every time I look in the mirror I am reminded of the savage attack that Diane rained upon me.
‘This scar will be here for the rest of my life. I can’t hide it. It’s not like a scar on the arm or the leg that can be hidden by clothing. It is front and centre across my cheek. When I meet a new person for the first time, the first thing they will see is this scar.
‘They will wonder how it got there. They will likely judge me within the first few seconds of meeting me thanks to this everlasting scar on my face.
‘I no longer want to leave the house. When I do go out I am always extremely paranoid of how I look. I feel people looking at my face, and it makes me want to crawl in a hole and hide away so nobody can see this horrid scar.
‘It is the first thing that people see, and always will be. I am so upset and hurt, as I considered Diane a friend.
‘The scar will serve as a daily reminder of the horror I endured at her hands of a friend. I may never be able to smile properly, and may never regain full feeling in my face.
‘I am now worried that I will never be able trust anyone again, because if a friend can do this to me, how could I trust another person.’
Ms Godsell said: ‘This scar will be here for the rest of my life. I can’t hide it. It’s not like a scar on the arm or the leg that can be hidden by clothing’
She added: ‘I cannot sleep at night as the attack is always on my mind. I feel trapped in an endless bubble of fear’
She added: ‘I want Diane to understand that this one quick action she did in the heat of the moment will now stay with me forever, and I will never be able to look in the mirror again without thinking of that night, knowing that someone I considered a close friend was able to disfigure me in just seconds, all due to a single comment that I made.
‘Whenever I smile only half of my mouth moves correctly whilst the other half remains motionless. I cannot sleep at night as the attack is always on my mind. I feel trapped in an endless bubble of fear.’
At Manchester Crown Court, Moran admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to two years in jail suspended for two years. She was also ordered to abide by a 8pm to 6am curfew for three months, made the subject of an alcohol abstinence programme and was banned from contacting Ms Godsell for three years under the terms of a restraining order.
Canning, 24, is currently at a top security mental hospital after being jailed for life with a minimum recommendation he serve 20 years.
The court heard the attack on Ms Godsell occurred at 6pm on July 26, 2023 after Canning had appeared before JPs charged with the attempted murder of Mr Kubacak who was knifed to the head, face, scalp, neck, back, chest, torso and buttocks after passing him by pure chance in an alleyway.
Moran, who rarely drank, was visiting a friend in Salford when she began drinking heavily. Gavin Howie, prosecuting, said: ‘Ms Godsell made a comment about the incident involving Michael Canning at which point the defendant became angry, stood up and started screaming at her.
‘She pushed the complainant and they had “a bit of a scuffle” in which she punched the complainant to the head which left her dazed. The defendant then picked up hexagonal tumbler style glass with a thick rim from the floor next to the couch. At the time she had hold of the complainant’s hair and pulled her head down towards the floor.
‘The defendant then smashed the glass against the complainant’s right cheek using her left hand. The glass shattered on the complainant’s cheek, making her feel dizzy and sick and her right cheek started pouring with blood.
‘The defendant was angry, and her body was “tensed up” and another woman in the room screamed “What the f*****g hell have you done” before driving Ms Godsell to hospital.’
Patrick Kubacak, 22, with Man City star striker Jack Grealish at the Etihad Stadium
Patrick was left critically injured after being frenziedly knifed in his head, face, scalp, neck, back, chest and torso
The victim underwent six hours of surgery during which time glass was removed from her face.
The 3cm laceration to the right cheek was so deep it severed the salivary duct and the nerve to the facial muscles that lift the corner of the right lip. Ms Godsell was told had some permanent paralysis as she had suffered nerve damage and she also lost some teeth, which were knocked out in the attack.
When arrested Moran claimed she only hit out with a glass to stop Ms Godsell attacking her. At one point she did have her hands on the victim’s neck but did not apply any pressure.
Defence counsel Jane Miller said Moran’s younger son Jack was severely disabled and relied on his mother for day-to-day care. She added: ‘Her other son Michael had been living at the family bungalow for a few days after being discharged from a psychiatric unit despite Diane arguing against this.
‘He walked out of the bungalow for a matter of metres to a ginnel where a brutal knife attack was carried out on an unfortunate member of the public. Her house was then turned into a crime scene and her son was charged.
‘She went to court to support Michael and later she went to a friend’s flat where Donna Godsell was present. Diane doesn’t drink but she drank that night when she was a state of crisis. She is extremely remorseful for her actions.’
In sentencing Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told Moran: ‘I accept you were going through a difficult time and you sought solace with friends. But unfortunately you turned to alcohol to support you through the experience that was happening to you and your family. Things got too much for you and you behaved in a way which out was out of character.
‘You got involved in a dispute, picked up a glass and smashed it into Ms Godsell’s face. There can be no doubt that the injuries you caused were profound and devastating. She now struggles to look in the mirror without crying.
‘The scar will be with her for the rest of her life and she cannot hide it.. When she smiles only half her mouth moves correctly and she now wears false teeth – all a consequence of your behaviour.’
The judge said she could suspended the sentence partly due to a two year delay in the case coming to court. She concluded: ‘You are the primary carer for your severely disabled son and a custodial sentence would have a profound and disproportionate effect on your son. I don’t think we will see you before the court again.’
