An abusive boyfriend threatened to throw a bottle of his own urine on his girlfriend during a prolonged and violent attack which left her fearing for her life.
Benjamin Merriman, 30, strangled his partner and threatened to kill her in a terrifying ordeal which lasted several hours.
Liverpool Crown Court heard an argument developed between Merriman and his partner in which he repeatedly slapped her across the face.
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Fiona McNeill, prosecuting, said: “He then jumped on her and strangled her and while strangling her he said, ‘I’m going to kill you’."
Ms McNeill said at one point Merriman produced a knife and threatened to stab his victim if she went to sleep.
She said: “He was calling her a number of names including prostitute and saying she stank. She recalled he threatened to rape her. One of the slaps caused her head to hit the wall.
“He would have moments during the course of the incident where he was expressing regret for his behaviour but after a few moments his attitude changed and became aggressive again.”
They continued to argue and he told her she “deserved to be p***** on” and grabbed a bottle of urine and attempted to pour it on her.
She kept asking for help during her ordeal, which lasted several hours, and eventually she managed get dressed and called her mum and leave.
Over the next couple of days she told a number of people what had happened and was advised to go to hospital for treatment and the police were contacted.
Ms McNell said the couple had been in a relationship for seven months and the victim tried to get help for Merriman who has bi-polar disorder and also has a personality disorder.
Merriman, of Bostock Street, Bewsey and Whitecross in Warrington, pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and assault by beating.
Jailing him the judge, Recorder Ian Unsworth, QC, said: “During the course of several hours on March 10 you subjected your victim to what I am sure you recognise must have been to her a terrifying ordeal.”
He told Merriman, who appeared via video link from prison, that he regarded the strangulation as an aggravating feature.
He said that although she had not suffered serious physical injuries she had been badly psychologically harmed.
He said: “She thought she was going to die. She struggled to sleep in the aftermath.”
Recorder Unsworth said that even though Merriman had been kept in custody she was afraid he would send someone round after her and she suffers from nightmares. She is afraid he will come after her when released and no longer feels safe.
She has had to alter her work arrangements and has decided to move home, he added.
He was jailed for three and a half years and also received an indefinite restraining order to keep away from his victim.
Simeon Evans, defending, said that the defendant, who has 10 previous convictions for 12 offences including criminal damage, malicious communications and assault, accepted his victim must have been frightened.
He had used knives to harm himself and threatened to use one of her but he did not brandish it.
He has been in custody for four and a half months and has enhanced status. He will take opportunities offered to him and acts responsibility when his mental health issues are dealt with, said Mr Evans.
Mr Evans said: “He was drinking as a form of self-medication which had the opposite effect and it turned him into this nasty person.”
The judge told Merriman: “Your brutal, cowardly, shameful acts have left an indelible mark on her and her wellbeing.”
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