A brute who throttled his partner in her home until she feared for her life is behind bars today.
Anthony Russell held a kitchen knife to his girlfriend’s neck and threatened to kill her in a terrifying late-night ordeal.
The 27-year-old attacked her after he came home drunk and accused her of having an affair.
He demanded to see her phone and her Facebook password at about 12.40pm on November 1.
He pulled her from her bed by her ankles then bundled her down the stairs at her Stockton home.
He grabbed her around the throat on the living room sofa and squeezed so tightly she could not breathe, Teesside Crown Court heard today.
He fetched a knife from the kitchen and held it to her throat saying: “I’m going to kill you.”
Prosecutor David Crook said: “He then took his jacket, placed it around her throat and began to garrote her with that, causing her to stop breathing.
“She describes this type of behaviour lasting several minutes.”
Russell released the coat from her neck and she got to her phone, only to find he had taken out the battery.
He then sat on her, forcing her face into the sofa’s cushions, covering her mouth and nose so she was unable to breathe properly again.
He stopped minutes later and, with two young children in the house, the victim stayed until she made an excuse and left the next day.
“The injuries were relatively minor, thank goodness considering what happened to her,” added Mr Crook.
She suffered bruises and scratches to her neck, cheek and jaw.
In a statement, she later said she felt vulnerable and scared, and genuinely believed Russell would kill or seriously hurt her.
She said: “I believe if I stay with Anthony he will hurt me in future or maybe worse. We need to separate for good.”
She is working with the Harbour organisation which helps domestic violence victims.
Russell, of Appleton Road, Stockton, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, and had breached his bail by letting himself into the victim’s home since the offence.
He had convictions for earlier assaults, the most recent five years ago.
Duncan McReddie, defending, said Russell had no previous domestic violence on his record and acted out of character after keeping out of trouble for a long time.
He said Russell drank far too heavily, lost his temper and behaved appallingly, and wanted his ex-partner to put the assault behind her.
Russell suffered from depressive illness and had referred himself to Harbour before the attack.
He described his first time in prison on remand as “the worst experience he’s ever had”, added Mr McReddie.
Judge Michael Taylor told Russell: “She thought she was going to be throttled to death.”He jailed Russell for a year and gave him a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting and communicating with his ex-partner or going into the street where she lives.
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