Domestic abuser choked wife as she held toddler son

A serial domestic abuser has been jailed after he choked his wife while she cradled their infant son.

Tomas Pocta laughed and mocked his partner as he carried out the drunken attack at an address in Aberdeen.

Jailing him, Sheriff Graham Buchanan said the 41-year-old posed a “risk of causing serious harm” to any future partner.

Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told Aberdeen Sheriff Court Pocta had been out drinking on the evening of Thursday January 13 this year.

Due to previous issues around his drinking, his wife had requested he be home by 10pm but he returned at 11.20pm “heavily intoxicated and making a lot of noise”.

An argument broke out when his wife asked him to be quiet as their son was sleeping.

During this, she tried to record his behaviour on her phone and a struggle for the mobile ensued.

Pocta then grabbed the woman by the neck and shouted in her face.

Neighbours overheard Pocta shouting and his partner in distress, shouting at him to get off her.

When the woman heard their 15-month-old son crying, she managed to escape and rushed to his room to comfort him, holding him against her chest.

Pocta followed her and sat next to her on the bed.

Mr Middleton said: “Without warning, the accused grabbed the complainer to the neck and pulled her on to the bed. This lasted for a few seconds and did not restrict her breathing.

“The complainer was still holding their infant son, who was unharmed.”

Pocta was asked to leave and did, briefly, before returning and beginning to taunt his wife.

Mr Middleton said: “The accused began to goad the complainer, mimicking her and saying that she was going to cry.

“He then said that he was going to kill her.

“He moved round the bed so that he was behind her, and placed both his hands around her neck.

“He pulled her back and pinned her down on the bed, while she was still holding their son.”

Pocta then began to apply pressure to her neck, leaving her “very distressed and afraid”.

She attempted to sit up, but Pocta prevented her.

Mr Middleton continued: “The complainer began to cry which prompted the accused, while sniggering, to say something similar to ‘you’re crying now’.

“He then tightened his grip on the complainer’s neck. The complainer was unable to breathe for approximately five seconds and she was unable to swallow.

“The complainer, in her victim impact statement, described having an overwhelming sense that she was going to die.”

When Pocta eventually loosened his grip, the woman screamed as loud as she could, only for her husband to cover her mouth with his hand.

She finally managed to push her attacker away with her foot and ran out of her home along with her son to seek refuge at a neighbour’s.

She was described as “hysterical” and had visible red marks on both sides of her neck which had started to bruise.

The matter was later reported to police after a doctor raised concerns about the marks.

Pocta, of Harris Drive, Aberdeen, pled guilty to a domestically aggravated charge of assault to injury and danger of life.

The sheriff jailed Pocta for 27 months, with a 12month supervised release order, and also imposed a six-year non-harassment order.

Tomas Pocta.