Husband beat wife and threatened to ‘burn her alive’
AN ABUSIVE husband punched and kicked his wife during a drunken row before lighting a fire in the kitchen and telling his victim “I am going to burn you alive”.
Shane Byard, 54, of Barry, split his wife’s lip during the ferocious assault as she described seeing the “rage in his eyes” as he bared his teeth.
He also prevented her from calling the police and locked the doors of the house to stop her escaping.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday heard Byard had been in a relationship with his wife for three years as of October 24.
On that day, they returned home at midnight from the pub and an argument began.
Prosecutor Ieuan Rees described how Byard lost his temper “for no reason” and without warning punched his wife to the face, causing her head to fly backwards.
He then punched her a further four times to the face, and the victim described feeling blood pouring from her split bottom lip.
He began screaming at her and calling her names before grabbing a clump of hair and dragging her on to the floor from the sofa while shaking her around.
Mr Rees said: “Throughout the whole time she was screaming for him to stop and crying her eyes out.”
The defendant then kicked the victim in the chest five times while she was on her knees and she pleaded for him to stop but he refused to let up.
“He then punched her in the face again and to the back of her head.
The defendant then told his wife he was going to kill her and said: “I am going to burn you alive”.
It was at this point he started a fire in the kitchen.
When police arrived, Byard initially claimed they weren’t needed but let them in when they threatened to make a forced entry.
As a result of the assault, the victim suffered a split lip, a black eye and a bump to the back of her head.
In a victim personal statement, she said she had “never been so terrified in her whole life” and described the incident as her “worst nightmare”.
Byard, of Barry Road, Barry, later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court heard he had previous convictions for offences against the person.
In mitigation, Jeffrey Jones said his client had been diagnosed with pulmonary disease but was a father and family man with a good work ethic.
He conceded the defendant was drunk at the time of the offence but stated Byard would lose his home if sent to custody immediately so asked for him to be dealt with by a suspended sentence.
Sentencing, Recorder David Elias QC said: “That assault was absolutely appalling. It involved you repeatedly attacking her in the home you shared.”
Byard was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out a rehabilitation activity requirement for 30 days, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement of 90 days and a curfew for two days. A restraining order also forbids him from contacting his wife indefinitely.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse, visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.