A WOMAN accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death has been cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.

Natasha Elderfield, 41, was accused of fatally stabbing Robert "Raggy" Dobinson on October 19 last year in Abingdon.

The jury at Oxford Crown Court today unanimously cleared her of murder but convicted her of manslaughter.

Judge Patrick Eccles asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and Elderfield has been remanded in custody to return to the same court to be sentenced at a date to be set in late May.

A statement released by Mr Dobinson's family by Thames Valley Police said: “Firstly, as a family we would like to express our gratitude to the officers of Thames Valley Police, in particular members of the Major Crime Unit for all their hard work, for their professionalism and dedication, and for all the support they have given us throughout this investigation.

“Our family has been ripped apart by Raggy’s death. There is a part of our family missing and that special person has gone.

“Raggy was the eldest in our family and we all used to look up to him. We had our ups and downs as every family does, but we loved our brother Raggy to bits.

“It has broken our hearts to know that there is somebody out there who can do something like this. Natasha used to live with us and she has done something that can never be forgiven.

“It is hard to move on with life and I hope that the court case will help with this. Raggy was a loving person and he would just talk to anyone. He used to always make us laugh. We just miss him so much and wish he could be here. We are missing a part of us. The world and Faringdon will never be the same without Raggy.”