Jealous Wakefield boyfriend held carving knife to partner's throat after locking her in the house

In a prolonged bout of violence, Bradley Wright repeatedly held the woman’s head under the water while she took bath, throttled her, spat in her face, tried to force her to take mouthfuls of pills, smashed up her items and threatened to kill himself, claiming she had driven him to it.

Leeds Crown Court heard that 20-year-old Wright had only been in the relationship with the woman for around a month, from December last year until the start of January.

Prosecutor Laura Addy said Wright became increasingly jealous and would snatch her phone to check with whom she had been speaking with. On January 4 of this year, matters came to a head when she told him she was going out with friends, which caused an argument.

He locked the front door and put the key in his pocket to prevent her from leaving. She went to lie down but he then dragged her from the bed by her hair and spat in her face. She tried to escape but he grabbed her hair again, putting his hands around her throat and leaving her struggling to breathe. He then began punching her and threatening to kill her, before leaving the room momentarily and returning with the carving knife, putting it to her throat.

Wright then went into the kitchen and began damaging items as she cowered in the corner. He took a shard of smashed plate and threatened to kill himself and blaming her. He got on top of her and tried to choke her again. He tried to force the pills into her mouth and said he would set the house on fire.

When she then went to take a bath he pushed her head under the water twice before dragging her out.

Following his arrest, Wright, formerly of Regent Street, Wakefield, denied the allegations and said she had threatened him. Having been bailed and told to stay away from the female, two weeks later he approached her and demanded to know why she called the police, telling her: “Drop the charges or I will hang myself.”

Then on January 31, he turned up at her home and demanded to be let in. Once inside, he threw a phone charger at her which struck her in the head, and hurled a drill through a window pane.

He later pleaded guilty on the day of trial to coercive behaviour, ABH, intimidating a witness, common assault and criminal damage. Mitigating, Jo Shepherd said: “He is remorseful for his actions and found it difficult to come to terms with.”

She said he had been on remand for eight months and that he has an “inability to cope with stresses and strains due to childhood trauma”.

The judge, Recorder Brian Whitehead jailed him for 27 months and said: “It was a vicious and prolonged assault, and there were multiple efforts to choke or suffocate her. The difficulties from your upbringing can’t provide an adequate explanation.”

He was given a five-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim.