A 48-year-old Tuebrook man has been jailed for 21 months after admitting two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his girlfriend, who he threatened to burn alive.
Paul Fry, of Windsor Road, was found hiding in a cupboard by police after his partner, Maria Alderson, ran to a police station following an attack in which he ripped out a clump of her hair. The incident occurred in the early hours of January 25 this year, only months after a previous assault in which he was said to have "volleyed her".
Violent assaults detailed in court
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that Fry had been in a relationship with Ms Alderson from around August 2025. On November 12 last year, she returned to her flat in Everton with a friend to find the defendant present. Fry ran at her, took her phone, and "volleyed her", hitting her several times before dragging her out of the address by her hair.
Police were called by an anonymous member of the public who reported seeing a woman being dragged from her home by her hair. Ms Alderson was taken to hospital with injuries including a laceration to her head and bruising around her eye.
In the early hours of January 25 this year, Fry again turned violent after his two friends left the apartment. He accused Ms Alderson of entering the living room half naked and shouted: "I will kill you. I will kill your kids. I will burn them alive."
Victim's escape and impact
Ms Alderson left the flat to buy cigarettes and a SIM card while Fry slept on a sofa. When she returned, he burst into the living room demanding where she had been, then punched her numerous times. She managed to run to the front door after telling him she needed the toilet, but he chased her, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her back inside before repeatedly hitting her head.
She eventually fled and ran directly to St Anne Street Police Station while dialling 999. Officers found Fry hiding in a cupboard back at the apartment and arrested him. A patch of Ms Alderson's hair had been ripped out during the assault.
In a statement, Ms Alderson said the incident had a significant impact on her, explaining that she had nightmares eight months later, struggled to sleep, felt unsafe in her home, and felt defeated and reluctant to enter a new relationship.
Defence cites 'new low' and personal losses
Fry has 21 previous convictions for 29 offences, including appearances as a youth for wounding with intent in 1995 and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 1996. He also breached a domestic violence protection order in relation to another partner in 2021.
Gary Lawrenson, defending, told the court the relationship was "clearly a disaster" and a "toxic relationship". He noted that the complainant had been arrested for stabbing Fry in October 2025, but the matter was not proceeded with because he did not make a statement. Lawrenson said Fry had moved on from the relationship and had been in custody for eight months.
Lawrenson described the offending as "a new low" in Fry's life, saying he had been "something of a Jack the lad years ago". He cited contributing factors including his mother's death from cancer in 2018, the breakdown of a long-term relationship, the death of his best friend, his brother being stabbed, and his father's ill health. As a result, his mental health declined dramatically, and he began taking heroin and crack cocaine.
In prison, Fry had seen a psychiatrist twice, been prescribed medication, and worked constantly, acting as a listener and mentor. He has four children and five grandchildren, two of whom were born while he was in prison. Lawrenson said Fry felt "brilliant" compared to the beginning of the year and asked the judge to reflect time served and allow his release as quickly as possible.
Judge's sentencing remarks
Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton described the picture as "two sides of the same coin of Paul Fry". He noted that Fry had been in trouble as a young man in the 1990s, but the trouble had continued, with a breach of a domestic violence protection order in 2021. The judge said both assaults were sustained, involving multiple blows and pulling her by the hair, and expressed sadness that a man who had avoided violence for years had returned to it, likely due to class A drug dependency.
The judge said domestic violence was a serious problem that courts take very seriously, noting that Ms Alderson was a woman alone in her home who should have been safe with her partner but was not. He said she was still having nightmares and struggling to sleep months later.
He told Fry he would be released very soon and advised him to get help and support, adding: "I hope your daughters will help you in steering clear of class A drugs. If you do, you are perfectly capable of living a law-abiding life. If you don't, it leads you into this sort of behaviour and you are just going to waste your time, spending more and more time in and out of custody."
