An abusive thug repeatedly attacked his ex-partner, twice strangling her and even threatened to ‘violate her’ - she was left fearing that she was going to die.
Reginaldo Mapana, 28, continuously accused the woman of cheating on him, and would launch violent and unprovoked attacks on her.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that the couple met five years ago and were in an on-off relationship which became abusive due to Mapana’s drinking.
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The first incident took place in August last year when she was awoken by him playing loud music in the living room, so asked him to turn it down.
Mapana refused and became angry, the court heard.
“She began to pick up her belongings and tried to leave,” prosecutor Sara Haque said.
“He pulled her to the floor and began to strangle her, but she managed to get out of the flat and go into one of the lifts. He followed her into the lift and spat at her in the face.”
She managed to move to another lift, but he continued following her before kicking her twice to the head.
Mapana, of Newton Heath, accused her of sleeping with ‘half of his friends’ and called her a ‘s**g’.
The couple split up and she blocked him on social media, but Mapana managed to make contact with her and eventually they resumed the relationship.
By Christmas of last year, she had moved back in with her family.
On Christmas Day he had turned up at her mum’s house drunk, but was sent away.
The following day he returned and threatened to damage the house and began shouting abuse.
He sent a further message via Snapchat which read: “Keep saying whatever you stupid b***h, going to come and violate you now just to make me happy, watch.”
She told police in a statement that she felt scared of what he would do to her and her family and said she felt she was ‘walking on eggshells’.
The couple began living together until the summer of this year when they were in his friend’s car and he lost his temper for ‘no obvious reason’.
Mapana began punching her ‘many times’ to the face until the car stopped and his friend’s took her home.
Following this incident they split up for good, the court heard.
The final incident took place on August 13 when Mapana had turned up at the woman’s mum’s house and banged on the front door.
She went out into the alleyway with him and told him to ‘f*** off’, before going back into the house through the back door.
“He followed her into the property and began searching the property, insisting she was a ‘sl**’, and refused to leave,” Ms Haque continued.
“She tried to get him out but he slapped her and she fell onto her back, he sat on top of her and put his hands around her throat and began to squeeze.
“She heard him saying that she was a ‘sl** nobody wanted’.
“She couldn’t breathe and thought she was going to die.”
The woman managed to fight him off and got him out of the house before contacting the police.
Mapana still tried to contact her over the following days until he was arrested.
In a further statement, the victim said: “I thought he was going to kill me, I felt like I was drowning in my own kitchen.”
He was said to have six previous convictions for 11 offences including criminal damage and battery.
He was subjected to a community order for drugs offences when these offences were committed, the court heard.
In mitigation, Adam White said Mapana did have feelings for her, but said it was a ‘toxic’ relationship.
“This is the first time he has found himself in custody and it’s had quite a dramatic effect on him - it’s forced him to reflect on the way he conducts himself,” he said.
“It’s apparent that alcohol was a prevalent factor in all of these offences.”
Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Prowse said: “She believed she thought she was going to die.
“There was a gratuitous degradation of the victim, and there was a prolonged persistent assault against a vulnerable woman.
“Domestic violence relates to offences perpetuated against people in relationships.
"Victims should be able to trust those they are in a relationship with over and above members of the public in the street.”
Mapana, of Croydon Drive, was jailed for 28 months and made subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting his former partner until further order.
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