‘I thought he was going to kill me’
COURT HEARS OF ATTACK BY BOXER ON GIRLFRIEND
A “6ft 5in” sportsman who choked his girlfriend until she thought she “was going to die” has been put behind bars.
Callum Berry only let go of his victim’s throat when blue lights from a police car illuminatedthe room where the attack was taking place at her home.
By then, the 26-year-old, who the victim said is a boxer and MMA fighter, had already caused injuries, including a fractured bone in her face, which she said was left an “absolute mess”.
At Newcastle Crown Court, Berry, of Boston Crescent, Sunderland, admitted causing grievous bodily harm and causing criminal damage in the house during the attack and has been jailed for 26 months.
Mr recorder Tom Little QC told him: “You put your hands around her throat and she struggled to breathe.
“She said in her victim personal statement she thought she was going to die as a result of what must have been a truly horrific incident for her. Fortunately, the police arrived, you saw the blue lights and let go of her throat.”
Prosecutor Michael Bunch told the court the couple had been out for the evening together last September but Berry was “resentful” that they were back at her home by 11pm.
Mr Bunch said Berry was “already highly intoxicated” and had started goading his victim for an argument then broke a bathroom window while trying to climb out.
The court heard the victim had shown Berry a cut she received cleaning up the broken glass.
Mr Bunch added :“She said that then led to the defendant, effectively, going ballistic.
“She goes on to say he punched her to the face, hard enough to cause her to fall to the floor. Then he started to kick her while she was on the floor.”
The court heard Berry told the woman he would call 999 but she also rang the police.
Mr Bunch said: “At that point, realising what she had done, he pulled the living room door from its frame and started to stamp on it.
“He said he had nothing to lose, came back towards her and placed his hands around her throat.
“He started to squeeze so she struggled to breathe. She said by this stage she was terrified, gasping for breath, trying to beg him to stop but struggling to speak because of the tightness of his grip around her throat.
“At that point, the police arrived at the scene, blue lights illuminated the room and meant the defendant let go. She fell to the floor.”
The court heard the victim was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, where it was found she had suffered a fracture to a bone in the left side of her face.
She has been left with ongoing issues, including nerve damage, which she had been told may take up to 18 months to completely repair.
The victim said in her personal statement: “I can’t believe he has done this.
“He is a big, 6ft 5in bloke who boxes and does MMA fighting, I didn’t stand a chance. He was kicking me in the head while I was on the floor When he was choking me I honestly thought he was going to kill me, I couldn’t breathe. This was a prolonged attack, my face is an absolute mess.”
Jennifer Coxon, defending, said Berry had been using alcohol and cocaine at the time of the attack, which he describes himself as “disgusting”.
She added: “He is extremely ashamed of what he has done.”
“He was kicking me in the head while I was on the floor” VICTIM