Man jailed for strangling partner and calling 500 times a day

A woman thought she was going to die when her partner lifted her off the floor with his hands around her neck during a violent assault. She was too afraid to call the police because he had warned her “snitches get stitches”.

Shaun Davies, 37, of Ewenny Road, Wick, Vale of Glamorgan, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment at Newport Crown Court on Monday after being convicted of intentional strangulation and pleading guilty to harassment.

The court heard that on February 3 last year, Davies became “defensive and then aggressive” when his partner of two years began crying during an argument. The defendant picked the victim up out of her chair by her throat and had his thumb pressed into her windpipe for “what seemed like a lifetime”.

Judge Daniel Williams said in his sentencing remarks that the victim was worried “this was how she was going to die”. She did not know if she had lost consciousness but the next thing she remembered was being on the floor.

After the assault, Davies texted the victim saying “everything would be fine” but when she told him what he had done, he said he “didn’t care”. A complaint was eventually made by a family member.

Following his arrest, Davies “besieged” the victim with phone calls – initially around 20 times a day but this increased to around 500 calls a day. He was arrested again on February 20 after breaching his bail conditions.

The court heard Davies has six previous convictions and two cautions for harassment against an ex-partner.

In her victim personal statement, the victim said she fears she will “always be looking over her shoulder”.

In mitigation, James McKenna said his client suffered the loss of his sister at the time of the assault and is a carer for his mother, who has kidney failure and is partially blind. The court also heard the defendant suffered a significant farming injury which resulted in him losing one of his testicles and requires ongoing treatment.

Judge Williams sentenced Davies to a total of 21 months imprisonment and made him subject to a restraining order for eight years.