A Pontypridd man who called his former partner 251 times in a week and sent her messages saying "Mammy is dying tonight" has been given a suspended prison sentence.
James Witchell, 30, of Barry Road, had been in a relationship with the victim for six-and-a-half years and they had two children together. In October 2025, the victim ended the relationship and Witchell moved out of the family home.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Witchell maliciously contacted social services about his former partner's care of their children and messaged her on his brother's phone, saying: "You have proper messed it up."
Campaign of harassment
Witchell turned up at the victim's home, and on one occasion she saw him in her garden at 7.45am. The same day he sent her an aggressive voice note, calling her "a f****** ugly c***".
There was further communication through his brother's phone, telling the victim to "stay in her lane" and saying "you literally are mental". On another occasion, he turned up at the victim's home early in the morning, looked through her window and said "knock, knock".
The defendant continued to contact the victim, accused her of having people at her home, and sent screenshots from her Ring doorbell camera of men walking past her house. The victim responded, saying: "This is stalking." As a result of his behaviour, she moved into her parents' home, but the harassment continued.
Threats and arrest
On November 11, Witchell and his brother pulled up next to the victim, who had her two children in the car with her. He wound the window down, but due to concerns for her safety the victim drove off. He followed her for some miles, but she managed to lose him.
The defendant made threats against the victim and her family through messages, social media and voice notes. She asked him to stop, but he continued to contact her. Prosecutor Mari Watkins said the victim felt she needed to reply or the abuse would be worse.
Between November 7 and 14, Witchell made 251 calls to the victim. The abuse culminated in him sending two voice messages on November 19, 2025, in which he said: "Mammy is dying tonight" and "I am going to wipe you all out". He also told her: "When you play with fire you get burned" and called her a "c***" and "dumb b****".
Witchell was arrested on November 19 and told officers he had apologised to the victim, said he was suffering from a "mental episode", and said he put money through the victim's door. He later pleaded guilty to harassment.
Victim impact and sentence
In a victim personal statement read to the court by Ms Watkins, the victim said: "Every day I worried he was going to do something again. It has affected my ability to trust anyone."
"I stay away from everyone as I fear they will hurt me in some way. I wasn't like this before James, since everything has happened I do not feel the same. I find it hard to go anywhere or go out. I had a good social life but this was taken away from me by James' actions. I wake up in the early hours of the night and have bad dreams where I relive the threats James made, not just towards me but my family. Before he was arrested and remanded it was torture, I was unable to feel safe in my own parents' home."
In mitigation, Zoe Laugharne said her client is "keen and motivated" to rehabilitate for the sake of his children. The barrister said the defendant has had regular employment on the railways, but suffered adverse childhood experiences. The court heard the defendant has been in custody for seven months.
Sentencing, Recorder Dyfed Thomas said: "For about a month your behaviour was disgraceful, bullying and threatening... You clearly lost your head."
Witchell was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment, suspended for 30 months. He was also made subject to a rehabilitation activity requirement, an accredited programme requirement, 200 hours unpaid work, and a restraining order for five years.
