The grandmother of a woman who stabbed her allegedly violent boyfriend to death has urged other battered women to seek help.

Patricia Francis, 62, spoke out after Andrina Smith was convicted of manslaughter on Monday over the death of Edward (Sleepy) Dill.

"I wanted Andrina to get away from that guy. But when you're young and you think you're in love... she would not leave him. I don't think she reported it. Andrina loved Sleepy, I know that. It's just that he was abusive and it turned out to be tragic," she said.

She pleaded with other women to heed what has happened. "If you're in an abusive relationship, get out. Just get out. When things like this happen it can just tear your family apart."

Smith, 26, denied murdering Mr. Dill, her boyfriend of four years and the father of her baby daughter.

She claimed during her Supreme Court trial that Mr. Dill, 35, had a history of beating her, and she lashed out in self defence after he punched, slapped and tried to choke her in the early hours of October 16 2006.

She described how Mr. Dill accused her of being unfaithful, punched her repeatedly in the face and told her "I feel like f*****g killing you girl".

He then dragged her by the hair into a dark kitchen and tried to choke her, she alleged, causing her to lash out at him with the first kitchen utensil she could grab — a knife which severed a major artery in his neck.

"All I wanted him to do was just stop hitting me, that was it. I didn't mean for any of this to happen — I mean, we have a daughter together," she wept when giving evidence in her trial.

Mrs. Francis lived with Smith and other family members including Smith's daughters aged one and nine at the time of the incident. She was called to give evidence for the prosecution, during which she described Mr. Dill as a "very jealous" boyfriend who hit her granddaughter and often left her battered and bruised.

However, prosecutor Carrington Mahoney claimed Mr. Dill only slapped Smith once — and this enraged her so much that she intentionally killed him.

Trial judge Carlisle Greaves told the jury they should convict Smith of murder if they believed she intended to kill or seriously harm her boyfriend. He told them to clear her if they accepted she had killed him in self defence.

He described the manslaughter verdict as one they could return if they believed Smith was provoked into killing Mr. Dill "in the heat of the moment" but not motivated by revenge or hatred.

The jury picked that option after three-and-a-half hours of deliberation — with the judge remanding Smith into custody pending sentencing at a later date.

Mrs. Francis, a grandmother-of-eight said yesterday: "It was very hard watching Andrina having to go through that. Her family support — and everyone in the family has been behind her during this time — I think that probably helped her quite a bit.

"I have a sick feeling in my stomach, the feeling that she's in prison. I don't think she should be in prison. I don't agree with the verdict. She was being abused by the guy. She was being beaten up that night. It should have been self defence.

"It's been very difficult for her family, but the main person we are all concerned about is Andrina. She's the one that has to go through all this. It breaks my heart having to see her go through this. She's the one that's suffering, her and the baby."

Members of Mr. Dill's family reacted with anger to Monday's verdict, making it clear they felt Smith should have been convicted of murder. Asked about this, Mrs. Francis said: "I understand their hurt. I understand that someone they love has been taken away from them but this was not a deliberate act on Andrina's part. "

Smith's children are currently being looked after by her grandparents. At the time she spoke with The Royal Gazette yesterday, Mrs. Francis had not been able to speak to her granddaughter in jail to see how she is doing.

Defence lawyer Charles Richardson has confirmed he will appeal Smith's conviction. Mrs. Francis said she felt "hopeful" that this would be successful, and that she will be released from prison as soon as possible.