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Beeston man's wedding vow strangle bid - court
A jealous husband tried to kill his estranged wife telling her he was determined to keep to the "til death do us part" section of their marriage vows, a court heard.
Vincent Hudson, 46, from Beeston, Leeds shouted "my vows, my vows, I must stick to my vows" as he twice tried to strangle Lynne Hudson as their horrified teenage son looked on, the jury heard.
Hudson, who denies one offence of attempted murder and one of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent but admits assault, had stormed round to the new home in Beeston which his ex shared with their 15-year-old son Paul, Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday.
He grabbed her by the throat with both hands, dragged her into the living room, straddled her on the floor and tried to strangle her, the jury heard.
At one point the court heard he was telling his son: "My vows, my vows, I must stick to my vows, at about 12 tonight me and your mum will be gone."
A jury heard that just a day earlier, an angry Hudson, fuming at his wife's new relationship and at a threat by her to take out a restraining order against him, had phoned his ex, telling her he meant his wedding vows, particularly the "death us do part" bit.
"He said our wedding vows were made for life and we were together for ever and that's how it should be," Mrs Hudson told the court from the witness box.
When she asked him if it was a threat, she told the jury, he said no, but added: "I'm just telling you."
During the attack on July 2, Hudson repeatedly told her things had to
end and they would both be dead in a few hours, the court heard.
The jury was told as he strangled her, his son screamed at him to stop and at one point punched his dad to save his mum.
Hudson stopped briefly but then grabbed Mrs Hudson's throat again, this time strangling her to the point she briefly blacked out, the jury of eight women and four men heard.
On the first day of his trial, cropped-haired Hudson sat stony-faced in the dock with his arms crossed throughout and looking straight ahead, but briefly started crying.
The court heard that on the evening of the attack an angry Hudson had stormed over to the house knowing Mrs Hudson was not yet home from work.
He had let himself into the house in Buckton View, Beeston through the unlocked door and sat on the sofa in the lounge as his son sat upstairs unawares.
Mrs Hudson found him sitting on the settee in an "edgy and nervy" state and he told her "it ends now", the court heard.
After she called her son downstairs, he grabbed the teenager's house key and locked the door before launching his frenzied attack, the jury heard.
"He just grabbed me by the throat and dragged me into the living room with his hands," Mrs Hudson told the jury.
"He just said 'it ends now' in a really nasty and menacing voice as if he meant what he was saying.
"The tighter he squeezed I thought: 'He's going to kill me'.
"I could hardly breathe."
"It seems like an eternity to me but it's hard for me to say (how long the attack lasted].
The court heard the Hudsons, married for 15 years, had a happy union until Hudson lost his job in 2007.
Becoming increasingly drunk and erratic, on one occasion Hudson tried to punch his wife, hitting the wall instead and breaking his hand, the jury heard.
Things came to a head in May this year, however, when Mrs Hudson told him she was seeing someone else following their 2007 separation.
Unable to cope, he kept phoning her and harassing her, until she told him she was considering taking out an injunction against him, the court heard.
Proceeding
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Friday 10 February 2012
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