Sick Leeds thug strangled ex then left her cruel voicemail telling her he 'enjoyed beating her up'

A judge said that Alistair Nichol was a “dangerous young individual” after he ignored a restraining order to stay away from the woman and continued to torment her.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Nichol and the woman had started a relationship in 2020 but it deteriorated into verbal arguments before he began to assault her.

It resulted in a two-year restraining order being imposed in December 2021. But he went to her home address in Wakefield on March 23 this year claiming he was there to collect clothing, prosecutor Jessica Heggie said. In a fit of jealousy, he demanded to see the woman’s phone and scroll through it, but she refused.

He grabbed her by her throat with both hands, then put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming. She was able to get free and ran for the door to escape but he quickly closed it, trapping her head. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into the house, causing her to fall and bang her head.

Nichol then apologised but demanded to see her phone, which she refused again, so he wrapped his legs around her neck and put his hand over mouth and nose to stop her breathing.

Days later he sent her the threatening voicemails, saying he “enjoyed beating her up”. He then turned up at her home again and refused to leave.

In a victim impact statement read out by Miss Heggie, she said the woman was so affected by Nichol’s behaviour that she often felt afraid to leave her home.

The 20-year-old, of Cardigan Road, Headingley, was arrested and later admitted two counts of breaching a restraining order and intentional strangulation. He appeared in court via video link from HMP Doncaster where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating on his behalf, Chris Moran conceded a pre-sentence report into Nichol’s behaviour suggested that he minimised his actions.

He said that Nichol had endured an “horrendous upbringing” and added: “He finds it incredibly difficult to speak about matters. He has been offered therapy but finds it difficult to communicate and speak to people properly and finds it difficult to accept what he has done.

“But he does accept everything that has been said about him. There’s a degree of remorse, although late in the day. He is still very young.”

Judge Ray Singh told him: “You are a very dangerous individual. She was crying and desperately trying to get away from you. She was scared of you, not knowing what you were capable of.

"Those who carry out strangulation use it as an effective and cruel way to exert dominance. There’s very little remorse, save your guilty plea. You do not take responsibility, victim blaming and saying it’s always her fault.”

He handed Nichol 36 months’ detention in a young offender institute.