A man viciously strangled his twin sister and then climbed onto the roof of his mum's house in a bid to escape from police.
Kian Platten launched a violent rampage at his mother's home after calling her a 's**g' and threatening to slit her throat, a court heard. When police were called to the house, the 20-year-old was founding hiding in the loft covered in insulation material, Hull Live reports.
He threatened to stab an officer in the neck with a makeshift weapon before removing felt and tiles and scrambling out on to the roof. Platten hurled a tile at a policeman who had grabbed hold of his leg in a brave bid to stop him escaping, but the officer's foot fell through a bedroom ceiling.
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It was only with the help of a colleague that he narrowly avoided plunging to the floor. Platten, of Somerville Court, Hedon, admitted assaulting his twin sister, causing actual bodily harm, as well as affray, sending menacing messages and two offences of criminal damage.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court that Platten's sister was house sitting at her mother's home in Hedon, but he did not know about this. He made a series of telephone calls to his sister, asking her to contact their mother about a pair of shoes.
He became threatening during the calls, saying that he was going to smash his mother's windows. "He then sent a number of threatening text messages to his sister," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
"Some stated that he was going to smash her windows, others called their mother a s**g and threatened to slit her throat."
The sister was looking after two young children in the living room when, suddenly, Platten smashed the window. "He then went to the front door and began to kick at it, setting off the house alarm," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
To turn off the alarm, the sister had to open the front door slightly. Platten – wearing a balaclava – then forced his way inside.
In the hallway, she swung at him to force him back outside. "This simply annoyed the defendant, who then responded by taking the complainant by the throat, squeezing it with both hands for several seconds and restricting her breathing," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
He threw her backwards, injuring her shoulder, and continued to squeeze her by the throat. "As she was now desperately struggling to breathe, she was forced to tap him on the shoulder, clearly bringing him to his senses as he then let her go."
The sister told Platten that she was going to telephone the police. "He again responded violently by taking a kitchen knife from the drawer," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. Platten refused to leave and his sister called the police, who arrived at 9.04pm.
"It became apparent due to blood splatter at the property that the defendant was, in fact, in the loft space," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. "Officers entered the loft space and found the defendant, who had partially covered himself with the insulating material. He was told to come out but he refused, saying that he was not going without a fight.
"As officers tried to coax him down, he continued to be agitated and threatening towards them, including threatening to stab one of the officers in the neck with a piece of plastic that he had found and was attempting to bend into a weapon. Finally, he began to remove the felt from the roof, gained access to the roof tiles and, having removed enough of them, began to climb on to the roof.
"In an attempt to stop him, one officer was able to take hold of one of the defendant's feet. However, as he did, the officer found that his foot had fallen through the bedroom ceiling.
"It was only with the aid of his colleague that he was prevented from falling through the ceiling completely. Surprisingly, the officer still had hold of the defendant's foot and so, to disengage him, the defendant threw a tile towards the officer, which had the desired effect, as the officers decided to retreat."
Platten was, by now, fully on the roof and he refused to come down. He threatened to throw tiles at the police. The fire brigade was called and a cherry picker was brought to the scene to give food to Platten. Negotiators also arrived.
"The defendant behaved very badly towards his family on this particular day and he is fortunate that they are still willing to have a relationship with him and to build bridges," said Mr Robinson. "He is sorry for what happened."
Platten had made 'expressions of regret' but they were 'a little self-centred'. He had made progress while in custody on remand. Platten's previous convictions were "concerning" but many of them were committed while he was a youth.
The probation service could not suggest any alternative for Platten other than immediate custody, which was 'not surprising' because of the factors involved. "It's felt that the best place for the defendant at the moment and for the near future is a custodial setting," Mr Robinson said.
Platten was sent to a young offenders' institution for 15 months and was given a two-year restraining order.
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