Man jailed after strangling fiancée on Majorca family holiday

A family holiday to Majorca turned to “horror” when a violent man strangled his fiancée after she forgot to pack his lighter. She was holding their baby while being attacked and thought she was “going to die.” 😨

Liam Winstone, 34, gripped his hands around his victim’s throat and held on tight until she was on the verge of passing out. The attack happened after what had been described as a “good family day” on July 12 last year.

The court heard Winstone became frustrated after the victim forgot to pack a lighter he requested. Later, when she asked him to sleep on the sofa in their hotel room, he called her a “fat c***” and said her family were “rotten” before blocking her exit and attacking her.

Winstone proceeded to place both hands around her neck and strangled her while she was holding their baby son. When she managed to stand, he attacked her again with a grip so hard her vision began to blur.

The victim shouted at him to stop because of the baby, at which point he fled the room. She was taken to hospital suffering pain and swelling.

In her victim statement, she said: “This incident has affected me and crippled me mentally. I have been kicking out and calling Liam’s name during nightmares and I’m having panic attacks.”

Winstone, of Upper Elizabeth Street, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, was arrested upon his return to Bristol Airport. He later pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told him: “What started out as a lovely family holiday was turned by your actions into one of horror for her. She thought she was going to die. In the judgement of this court, any man who attacks a woman is committing an offence too serious to be dealt with by anything short of an immediate custodial sentence. It the ultimate act of a coward for man to attack a woman.”

Winstone was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment and made subject to a restraining order for five years. ⚖️