A controlling boyfriend who flushed his ex-girlfriend's pet rabbit down the toilet and shot at her with a BB gun has been jailed. Nicholas Cash, 26, wept as he received a sentence of nine years and four months at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday (October 6).
Abuse details
The court heard how he fired a BB gun at his former partner and slashed her face with broken glass during a prolonged period of abuse. Cash also encouraged his ex-girlfriend into overdosing and forced pills down her throat. He banned her from wearing makeup and would scrutinise her mobile and social media usage. The victim called the police after Cash flushed one of her rabbits down the toilet, the Daily Mail reported.
Flight and extradition
The abuser was due to stand trial in 2022, but allegedly claimed he was too unwell to appear in court. He subsequently fled to Thailand with a new partner and baby, who he is believed to have eventually left. Cash was convicted in his absence in 2023 for controlling or coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage and administering a poisonous or noxious substance with intent.
Dorset Police joined forces with the Royal Thai Police, National Crime Agency, Foreign Office and The National Extradition Unit to bring him to justice. He was found in Thailand and apprehended by Royal Thai Police on December 23 last year, reports the Express. Cash was then extradited back to Britain where officers greeted his plane at Heathrow Airport.
Ruby Shrimpton, representing Cash, stated during the trial that her client was terrified at the possibility of imprisonment, which prompted his "rash" decision to abscond from the UK.
Sentence and victim impact
The defendant received an eight-year sentence for domestic abuse. He was also hit with another additional 16 months for violating a suspended sentence connected to crimes against another victim.
Det Cons Michael White from Dorset Police said: "At the centre of our extensive efforts to locate Nicholas Cash and bring him to justice was the victim of his abusive behaviour. We have continued to keep her updated and I hope this case demonstrates we will do absolutely everything in our power to ensure perpetrators are not able to escape the consequences of their actions."
In a statement from Cash's original trial, his victim said what her ex did to her was "sickening" but she was too scared to leave him. She added: "When I did finally leave he flushed one of my pet rabbits down the toilet, killing it. That was the last straw for me to go to the police. It was really hard going through the trial, being questioned by his lawyer while he was living it up in Thailand. I'm still unable to sleep. I have horrific nightmares about him coming to snatch me back. I feel emotionally blunted and numb most of the time."
She continued: "I have very serious trust issues and I'm very uncomfortable in social settings. Before I was a social and outgoing person. I felt a part of the world I lived in and was comfortable in my own skin. He took all that away from me."
