Man who ‘liked to see how others live’ jailed for throttling

 A man who “liked to see how other people lived” broke into a couple’s home and throttled a woman until she lost consciousness on her bed, a court heard.

Finbar Shirley, 24, climbed through an open window before wandering around the bedroom and took off his shoes and sat on the couple’s bed while they were downstairs.

When the woman challenged him after she spotted him visiting the lavatory, he leapt up squeezed her neck until she collapsed. Bespectacled Shirley then calmly passed the husband on the stairs and walked out of the house in Bridge, near Canterbury, and the police and paramedics were called.

Shirley was jailed for six years at Canterbury Crown Court after he admitted burglary and assault.

Det Con Steve Day said: “This is a particularly disturbing case that left the victim and her family absolutely terrified. Shirley had taken an unhealthy interest in the house and then calmly attacked the woman without hesitation when he thought he would get caught.

Kent Police said: “When Shirley was arrested, he told officers he liked to see how others lived and admitted to climbing through an open window at the house.”