Woman ‘living in hell’ with jealous Leeds boyfriend feared he would kill her

The woman said she struggled to breathe as Liam Hyde tightened his grip around her neck during the lengthy attack in her home, in which he repeatedly kicked and punched her around the face.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the couple had been in a relationship since August 2021, which prosecutor Heather Gilmore described as being “far from happy”.

The female victim later told police that 22-year-old Hyde was jealous and controlling. She had tried to end it on several occasions but was persuaded to take him back.

In September last year he went to her house in the early hours after they had an argument about her going out with friends, and he kicked the door to her property, causing damage.

On October 2 he was again at her home when argument broke out and he attacked her. She hit her head on a radiator and needed five stitches for the five-cm wound. She told the hospital she struck her head on a garage door after Hyde “begged” her not to say he was responsible.

Again the woman ended the relationship on January 5 this year, and Hyde was arrested again the next day after he went to her home. On the morning of January 8 he again went to her property, saying he had been stabbed and was bleeding.

She eventually abated and let him in, but he then began accusing her of seeing somebody else. He began punching her around the head and kicking her before putting his hands around her throat telling her he would kill her.

Miss Gilmore said: “He told her she would not be seeing her daughter again. She thought her life was over and she was very scared.”

Hyde eventually let go, and his mood would swing between apologetic and continuing his attack. The woman managed to calm him down and then suggested he go to his mother’s, after which she intended to call the police. But he forced her to drive him, despite not being able to see through the swelling around her eyes.

When they reached his mother's, the police were called and Hyde was arrested.

He initially denied the attacks, saying he cut his hand on a broken window, then gave no comments during a later interview with police. Hyde, of Stanks Lane North, Swarcliffe, later admitted three counts of criminal damage, two of ABH and one of strangulation.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “My daughter was nearly left without a mum. He needs to understand what he has done. I was living in hell while in a relationship with him.”

He has a conviction of ABH from when he was a youth, and possession of a prohibited weapon from 2021.

Mitigating, Mohammed Rafiq said Hyde had been on remand since January and added: “He is deeply ashamed. He is from a troubled background and is very immature. There are anger management issues and substance issues, and an element of jealousy.”

Judge Rodney Jameson KC jailed Hyde for 29 months and gave him a restraining order to keep him away from the woman.