Pontypool man suffocated girlfriend with bag in attack

A Pontypool man who suffocated his girlfriend with a black bag before burning her cheek with a cigarette has been warned he faces an inevitable prison sentence.

Gavin Tovey, 42, from Elm Close, Trevethin, strangled the woman and threw her around a room “like a doll” during a violent attack at their home.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the couple had been in a two-year relationship which had “issues, particularly when the defendant had been drinking and using cannabis”.

Tovey had previously strangled his now ex-partner and smashed her phone after she wanted to leave him when she discovered he had been cheating on her. After that attack, he apologised and convinced her to stay.

On Sunday, June 8, Tovey falsely suspected her of having a man in the house.

Sol Hartley, prosecuting, said: “He began to accuse her of cheating on him, although this was patently untrue. The defendant was shouting and screaming around the house and the victim told him to pack up his belongings and leave. He began throwing plant pots and a vase out of the window.”

Mr Hartley added: “The defendant then emptied the contents of a black bag and put it over her head and tightened the end. She was screaming that she couldn’t breathe – she thought he was going to kill her. The victim then describes being thrown around the room like a doll before he burnt her cheek with a cigarette.”

In her victim impact statement, she said: “This has had a massive impact on my mental health. I have been traumatised. I can’t sleep and I feel that I can’t switch off.”

Following his arrest, Tovey was remanded in custody and wrote letters to the woman from prison in which he told her he loved her and begged her to “get me out of here”. The prosecution noted this was an aggravating feature as it was an attempt to “dissuade her from supporting the prosecution”.

Tovey admitted intentional suffocation, intentional strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating and criminal damage. He has seven previous convictions for 15 offences, including one for violence in 2008.

Jac Brown, representing him, said: “He has shown his remorse and wants to rehabilitate himself. The defendant’s best mitigation are his early guilty pleas.”

Recorder Victoria Hiller adjourned sentencing until Thursday, telling Tovey that “an immediate prison term was inevitable” and remanding him in custody.