A racist thug shouted 'I love you' to his current partner as he was caged for racially abusing his former girlfriend.
Andrew Murphy, 37, saw his ex-partner in the street and called her a racial slur and a 'slag' before spitting at her and squeezing her neck with his hand.
In a hearing held at Liverpool Crown Court on March 18, the court heard that four weeks prior to this first incident on March 10, 2020, the couple had broken up.
Liverpool Echo reports that when challenged about the racist remarks Murphy, from Netherton, replied: "She’s not even black, she’s just like been on the sun beds a bit too much”.
Prosecutor, Stuart Mills, told the court: "He spat at her and had his hand on her throat squeezing her neck and forced her to the ground. Passers-by remonstrated with him and she took off. Sirens were heard and he fled.” He added the victim was left with minor bruising and swelling.
Mr Mills said that Murphy sent her racially abusive calls and texts. In one of these calls, Murphy said: "If you don’t answer the phone in the next five minutes I am going come and make an absolute c**t of you in the street.” He also left another voicemail message threatening to “bladder you” and “kick the kid out of you.”
Two days later the thug arrived at her home, kicking and banging the front door and abusively telling her to come out. On March 14 he broke into her house while she was out and stole a television set. He messaged her saying what he had done and calling her ‘a rat.’
Police telephoned him on April 29 saying that they wanted to speak to him, but he put the phone down. Despite knowing he was wanted, he went to her mum’s home on August 17 and was seen on the adjoining fence aggressively shouting at her “drop the charges.”
He was arrested on October 20 and when interviewed he claimed his former partner had abused him and his family. He alleged she had kicked and slapped him and grabbed her round the neck to keep her away.
Murphy, of Carr Meadow Hey, Netherton, had pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment putting her former partner in fear of violence. The thug wept in the dock as he was jailed for 35 months and looked over at his girlfriend in the public gallery.
The court heard the victim of the racist abuse said in an impact statement: “I was left in a constant state of fear, always looking over my shoulder.”
She said she was fearful in her own home and had stopped taking her children round to her mum’s home so their granny had missed out on time with them.
The court heard Murphy has previous convictions including a ten year sentence for a drugs plot and judge Recorder Paul Taylor, told him that because of his actions the victim’s children had to go to the home of their biological father “as she has been close to a nervous breakdown.”
Michael O’Brien, defending, said that Murphy accepted his comments to the victim has been “disgraceful. He accepts responsibility for all of his actions and is thoroughly ashamed. He is genuinely remorseful.”
He is now in a stable relationship and appears to be maturing, he added. As he was led to the cells Murphy, wiping away tears, shouted over to his girlfriend, “Rose I love you.”
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