A husband repeatedly hit his wife over the head while she was driving after collecting him from a Wetherspoons pub in Neath. The assault happened in December 2020 when Carl Casey, 49, of Pellau Road, Margam, phoned his wife of 20 years, Danielle Casey, and asked her to pick him up because he had been asked to leave the pub.
Attack in the car
The court heard that Casey would not normally drink but when he did he would become aggressive. On the way back to their house, while his wife was driving, Casey reached over and punched her to the head and shoulders. Their 15-year-old daughter intervened and said: "Stop dad, mum's driving." Ms Casey then phoned Casey's father to come and collect him.
In a victim impact statement read aloud to Swansea Crown Court, Ms Casey said: "He hit me repeatedly over the back of the head and I just managed to pull over at the side of the road before we could've all been killed. The attack was unprovoked and could've killed us all."
Second incident in 2024
The court also heard about a separate incident in March 2024. At around 8pm the couple had been at home and Ms Casey was preparing food. Casey demanded she cooked food "there and then". In response, Ms Casey said: "Don't speak to me like that." "I'm sick of you, why don't you just go," Casey responded.
Casey then stood up and threw a TV remote at her with such force that it split and caused bruising to her leg that lasted for a few weeks.
Impact and sentence
Having left the relationship, Ms Casey said: "We are now free. When I open the door to my new home I see people that love me and I love them. We don't have much but we have our peace and sanity and a safe home." She said his guilty pleas had brought a "small bit of justice" but there were no winners or losers. "I understand now that it was never love. I loved Carl but he never loved me because he is not capable," she said.
Casey had pleaded guilty to two counts of battery and had two previous convictions which were not of a domestic violence nature. Sarah John, representing Casey, said the offences were two years and six years old, and said her client had complied well with a previous suspended sentence order. She added that he had now moved on with a new relationship and built bridges with his daughter.
Judge Catherine Richards said Casey had assaulted his wife when he had been drunk, she had been driving, and their children were in the back of the car. "She was your wife and was entitled to feel safe and secure with you and you abused that trust," Judge Richards added.
Casey was handed a 12-month community order and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also made subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting his now ex-wife.
