An ex-boyfriend told a vulnerable mum he would slash her face and "stab her up and snap her chin".
Patrick Garrett was in a relationship with the woman, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, for around 18 months.
But when it ended last December he launched violent attacks including headbutting her and grabbing her by the throat.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard they separated after she reported him to police for making threats to harm her children.
Simon Duncan, prosecuting, said Garrett, of Coniston Street, Anfield, made abusive phone calls and sent texts on December 14 in which he calling her a "grass" and told her she would "get what she deserved".
On December 15, he said he was outside her home and she "had better hope the police get him", but when officers attended, he wasn't there.
The court heard Garrett went to her home in Wavertree on December 20 to collect some belongings, which they had arranged.
But when she bent down to pass him a bag, he lunged forward and "squeezed" her throat with one hand for five to 10 seconds while she tried to fight him off.
Mr Duncan said: "He smirked and left with the bag."
She pressed a domestic violence alarm but he later phoned repeatedly and said: "If you don't retract the statement it will get worse."
The court heard Garrett used a false Facebook profile to send threatening messages to various members of her family, including when he warned her aunt and nan should "watch what happens to their kens" and said he would burn their homes.
He threatened in a voicemail to "slash" his former partner's face and on Boxing Day smashed a side window at her home.
The court heard he again threatened her and her children, warning: "Your time will come kid, f***ing getting slashed to pieces."
On January 1, he attacked her at a house in Wavertree, when he headbutted her to the face, punched her in the head and grabbed her neck for around 15 seconds, when she struggled to breathe.
She later saw him in bushes outside her home and called police, but he continued to harass her with calls and texts until January 4.
Mr Duncan said Garrett offered to pay her £150 to drop the allegations and on February 3 said he had paid people to do something and she should "be ready for a big old bang".
Garrett handed himself into police and gave a no comment interview, but was released on bail and on April 26 said he was coming to her home.
She told him no and the next day woke to 74 missed calls, before he asked for food and whether he could come over for a shower, but she refused.
Garrett replied: "It's a good job you didn't fall for that. Do you really think I would have had a shower? I would have stabbed you up and left you on your own."
The victim recorded one call on April 27 when he threatened "if I get nicked you're getting stabbed" and another on April 28 when he said he would "stab her up and snap her chin".
She booked into a hotel but called police in fear that he was there, before he sent a message in which he claimed he was responsible for a fire at her home in March 2020.
The woman provided a retraction statement on May 4, but Garrett was arrested on May 11, when he denied any wrongdoing.
He later admitted harassment and two counts of common assault.
The court heard the victim, sitting in the public gallery, now wanted to continue the relationship.
Garrett has 28 previous convictions for 55 offences, including robbery, threatening behaviour and breaching an ASBO as a youth.
In 2007 he was locked up for four and a half years for assault with intent to rob and he was last jailed for four months in April 2020 for escaping from prison during a hospital visit.
Michael O'Brien, defending, said his client was "disappointed" by a pre-sentence report, which concluded there wasn't a prospect of rehabilitation and that he blamed his victim for his behaviour.
He said in a letter to the judge, Garrett said: "I accept and I'm really sorry for what I've done, that's why I put a guilty plea in, because I was in the wrong and I'm willing to do anything you put forward."
Mr O'Brien suggested this showed Garrett was remorseful, willing to comply with court orders and could be rehabilitated in the community.
Judge Louise Brandon noted Garrett didn't have previous convictions for domestic violence, but said his conduct was "intended to maximise the fear and distress" of his victim.
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She said the woman may now wish the relationship to continue, but at the time Garrett left her scared "not just for her safety but for the safety of her children and her family".
Judge Brandon said Garrett knew the victim was "particularly vulnerable" and said: "I'm not convinced you do fully understand the effect your behaviour has had".
She said he was assessed as a high risk of reoffending and causing serious harm, particularly to the woman, and given his past failure to comply with court orders and bail or address drug misuse issues, she didn't believe there was a prospect of rehabilitation.
Jailing him for 15 months, she said the public and his ex-girlfriend in particular "need to be protected from you".
If you have been affected by any issues mentioned in this article, you can contact the Domestic Violence Helpline for free on 0808 2000 247 or any of the following organisations:
People can also call Merseyside Police on 101 or, if they are in immediate danger, call 999.
