A dad strangled his girlfriend in front of a screaming child before burning her clothes.
Andrew Woodward, 43, of Crossley Road, St Helens, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court after a trial found him guilty of two counts of strangulation. A court heard that Woodward strangled partner Laura Jackman, 27, on two separate occasions, with three children present.
Alaric Walmsley, prosecuting, explained on October 12, Woodward and Ms Jackman were arguing, when he began smashing items in the house and throwing them at her, whilst she was holding a child. With three children present, Woodward grabbed the victim by the throat for approximately 15 seconds, took her phone to “prevent her from calling the police”, and stopped her from leaving.
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A court heard the assault occurred “whilst one of the children was screaming”, and the children were so distressed they told their teacher at school. The incident was then reported to social services and the police. Four days later, on October 16, Ms Jackman arrived home just before midnight to find Woodward intoxicated and burning her clothes in the back garden.
He then threw a glass bottle at her back window, and used a chair to damage the same window. Woodward chased the victim around to the front of the house, pinned her to the ground and tried to take her phone again, in view of the children.
A neighbour then intervened, and Woodward fled the scene before police arrived. He then went to his daughter Kelsey Woodward's home where they had an argument and he threw a steel capped boot at her, which she dodged, and another at her window.
Recorder William Waldron KC said: “She thought that you had wanted to kill her and she could not breathe.”
He then paused for 15 seconds, adding: “I have let 15 seconds elapse, it’s a short time on a watch but a long time if you are terrified and cannot breathe.”
Mr Recorder Waldron told the court that after the strangulation, Woodward accused the victim of “making” him “do it” and described the burning of the victim's clothes as “clearly an act of revenge”. Ian Morris, defending, explained how Woodward raised two children “to adulthood and beyond”, singlehandedly because their mother “gave up any interest” in raising them “in favour of her new partner”.
Mr Morris said: “He has done a lot for them, and he has let himself down and more importantly let them down.” He said Woodward had fallen back into the “depressing viscous cycle” of reliance upon drugs and alcohol, but “he can do better".
On October 24, Woodward pleaded guilty to one count of causing criminal damage and one count of common assault. He denied two charges of strangulation, but a jury in Liverpool Crown Court found him guilty on November 24.
He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for each count of intentional strangulation, meaning he will serve three years in prison.
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