Partner feared for her life as boyfriend strangled her

A row broke out between the couple which led to Meshach John Knighton Stephens putting both hands around his then partner’s neck at least three times.

The victim reported seeing dots in her eyes as she was attacked by the 24-year-old in his Bournemouth flat.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard as the woman ran off from the flat Stephens was laughing and he asked her what she was scared of.

After the incident on April 20 was reported to police, officers attended the address and found the defendant hiding in the loft.

Stephens, of Christchurch Road, Bournemouth pleaded guilty to robbery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of cannabis and cocaine.

Judge Jonathan Fuller QC, who jailed the offender for four years, told Stephens he had developed an “entrenched pattern” of “violent behaviour against partners”.

Prosecuting, Andrew Houston the couple, who had been together for around two months having met on a dating app, got into an argument after the defendant said he was going to invite his friend to stay the night on the sofa.

The complainant said she would go home if the friend came over, which led to Stephens telling her "it is my ******* flat".

The defendant phoned another woman, putting the call on speaker phone, to annoy his partner. At this point she pours a glass of water over him, which Mr Houston said was “a red rag to a bull”.

Stephens grabbed the woman by the throat with boat hands. The court heard she could not breathe and she was really scared.

“She was terrified he was going to kill her,” Mr Houston said.

After letting go, the woman went downstairs to leave but the defendant followed, with a knife in his waistband. He demanded that she transfer money to him.

When downstairs Stephens “launched” the victim on to a sofa before getting on top of her, straddling her and using his body weight to pin her down.

There was a dispute about whether £30 or £20 should be transferred and Stephens grabbed her by the throat again.

The victim told police in interview: “He held my neck so hard I saw dots in my eyes.”

Following his arrest, which included the police seizing two knives, cannabis and cocaine, the defendant gave a no comment interview.

A victim impact statement read by Mr Houston said the complainant had felt “extremely unsafe and vulnerable, constantly looking over my shoulder”.

“The fear I felt that night will forever haunt me,” the victim’s statement said.

She added: “I feel like he has taken my entire life away.”

The woman said she will never be the same again after what happened that night.

“I can only hope and pray that nothing like this will happen to another woman,” the statement said.

Mitigating, Roderick Blaine said his client had no recollection of what happened on the night of the incident.

Mr Blaine said the defendant had been candid to explain his relationships had been “problematic and he has engaged in abusive behaviour”.

The court heard he had a difficult upbringing, which had been encapsulated in a diagnosis of Emotionally unstable personality disorder.

“He is a product of the environment in which he grew up in and he had not made any changes,” Mr Blaine said.

Judge Fuller QC said the defendant’s criminal record of 22 convictions for 24 offences was “appalling” and a “substantial aggravating feature in this case”.

The court heard his prior offending included harassment of a former partner and a separate incident of inflicting grievous bodily harm in an unprovoked attack.

Another previous offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a partner involved him approaching the victim from behind and attacking her. The complainant in that case suffered a fractured skull.

Judge Fuller QC said the victim, who was present in court for the sentencing, had shown grace and dignity throughout the hearing.

He said: “The victim personal statement makes perfectly clear the considerable impact that it has had on her.”

The judge issued a restraining order until further order.