A thug who threatened his girlfriend with a "zombie knife" has been jailed after he was caught in the act on his own dog cam.
Anthony Murgatroyd, 38, had set up a motion-sensor camera in his partner's living room to find out which dog was chewing the furniture.
But when he launched a terrifying attack on the woman, the camera triggered and captured his every move, leading to his arrest and conviction.
Murgatroyd left his girlfriend fearing for her life when he dragged her into the street and hit her following an argument that he'd been seeing prostitutes.
The 'dog cam' then captured her going back into her living room, followed by Murgatroyd who hit her over the head and pulled her about by her hair.
He grabbed a zombie knife from the floor and lunged at her before pushing it towards her face and making stabbing and slashing actions to her body.
Murgatroyd then put the terrifying knife behind the sofa, where a large dog could be seen cowering in distress, and shoved a screwdriver in the victims face.
He put the weapon away and hit the victim again, and then handed her a beer bottle and forced her to open it with her teeth.
Murgatroyd also asked his girlfriend to touch the zombie knife.
She eventually managed to escape from the house in Leeds, West Yorks, and ran to get help from neighbours who alerted the police.
Officers later arrested Murgatroyd in a violent struggle at his home where incapacitant spray had to be used and a taser was drawn.
When officers spoke to the victim, she was still in fear of the suspect and felt unable to support a prosecution.
But footage was recovered from the dog cam which gave a detailed illustration of Murgatroyd’s actions.
And detectives were confident it could be used as evidence so Murgatroyd was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was also charged with possession in private of a zombie knife under the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
Murgatroyd pleaded guilty to both offences when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court on November 7, two days after the attack.
He was jailed for 20 months at the same court on Monday, November 28, which included a previous domestic-related assault in August.
Speaking after sentencing, Det Supt Lee Berry said: “This was a prolonged and violent attack involving weapons, and the victim feared for her life during what was an absolutely terrifying ordeal.
“She was left so distressed and afraid of Murgatroyd that she felt unable to support a prosecution against him.
"But once officers secured and viewed the footage from the ‘dog cam’ they were able to use that as key evidence to progress to charges.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to tackle violence against women and girls and we take all reports of domestic abuse seriously and use all available means to bring offenders to justice."
