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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Neil Docking

Little girl saw what smirking "bully" did to her "mummy and grandma"

A cowardly "bully" battered his partner then attacked her disabled mum in front of their three-year-old daughter.

Gerard Starkey punched and slapped Lyndsay Baines, leaving her covered in bruises , after falsely accusing her of cheating.

Three days later he hit June Magee when she tried to protect Miss Baines, then tried to smash her Motability car.

This was witnessed by his daughter, who told police she was upset by what he did to her "mummy and grandma".

Liverpool Crown Court (Liverpool Echo)

Liverpool Crown Court heard Starkey, of Park Street, Bootle, turned on Miss Baines at around 11pm on June 27 this year.

Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, said he called her a s*** and a "two-boy hoe", before saying he would "get the lads" involved.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the floor, then slapped and punched her arms, chest, bottom and legs.

Ms Nemat said he also punched her to the side of the face and she was left with bruises across her body, shown in photos.

On June 30 at 8.15pm, he went to her home in his Vauxhall Combo van, despite being banned from driving, to collect his belongings.

Miss Baines' mum opened the door and an argument broke out, during which their daughter was crying.

What to do if you're a victim of domestic violence

Starkey was abusive to Miss Baines and Mrs Magee, before punching "terrified" Mrs Magee in the face as he left the house.

She suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and a lung condition and said she was left breathless.

Before leaving, Starkey pulled wires out of a CCTV box, then got in his van and shouted at his victims: "You're dead."

He returned with a toolbox and a wheel brace, which he used to dent and scratch Mrs Magee's Ford EcoSport.

Starkey failed to smash the car's reinforced glass windows, but the victim had to pay a £200 excess on her insurance.

Ms Nemat said he threatened to return the next day to get his child and attack Mrs Magee's husband and the property.

Mrs Magee told the court: "Our lives have been a living hell since he came into our lives. He made threats and has us all scared of him."

She said Starkey bullied her daughter and left her "a shell of her old self", adding: "I honestly thought one day she would end up in a morgue."

The nan said: "No man should hit a woman and no man should speak to a woman the way he spoke to us. Gerard Starkey has no respect for women."

Miss Baines said Starkey controlled everything she did and she felt "degraded" by him and "shut off from family and friends".

The victim told the court she felt so low she wanted to hang herself and the allegations of cheating "couldn't have been further from the truth".

Miss Baines said "my little girl deserves better", adding: "My daughter deserves to live in a happy home without conflict".

Starkey made no comment when interviewed by police, but later admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and common assault.

The thug, also known as Gerald and Gerrard, also admitted criminal damage, threatening behaviour and driving while disqualified.

He has six previous convictions for 16 offences including wounding with intent and assault causing actual bodily harm in 2000.

The dad-of-three is a convicted cocaine dealer and was jailed for five years for possessing a gun and ammunition in 2005 .

He received a fine and a two-year road ban in March 2018 for two counts of drug driving and possession of a controlled drug.

Gerald Baxter, defending, said his client accepted he would be sentenced on the basis of what his victims said.

He said Starkey apologised for giving the impression to a probation officer that he was trying to minimise his guilt.

However, he said he didn't recognise what they said about him in their victim statements and was "very upset".

Mr Baxter said Starkey had two children, aged 16 and 19, from a previous relationship who he saw twice a week.

He said there had not been complaints about that relationship, adding: "He says he doesn't have a history of domestic violence ."

Mr Baxter said his client accepted the relationship was over and urged Judge Louise Brandon to spare him jail.

Judge Brandon made a 15-year restraining order to protect Miss Baines, which she said would expire when their daughter was 18.

Gerard Starkey, 39, of Park Street, Bootle (Liverpool Echo)

She summarised the offences, at which point Starkey shook his head and claimed he pushed rather than punched Mrs Magee.

The judge said both vulnerable victims described him as a "bully" and that Miss Baines said he mentally and physically abused her for years.

Judge Brandon said: "Knowing that you could do that to another human being, who you had a child with and somebody you were in a relationship with, is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself."

She said damaging the Motability car was a "nasty, mean offence" and "an attempt to continue to punish and hurt your partner's family".

Judge Brandon said Starkey's distressed daughter's comments to police "made it clear that she saw what you did to her mummy and grandma and you should be ashamed of yourself."

She said she noted his lack of remorse and jailed him for 12 months, imposing a two and a half year driving ban.

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