A man who violently attacked his partner so severely she required surgery has been jailed. Peter Lynch, 51, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The court heard Lynch had drunk eight bottles of alcohol at a comedy club performance in Leeds on March 28 before assaulting the woman. Her injuries were so horrific they were said to be consistent with a road traffic collision.
The court also heard this week that Lynch had picked the woman's cat up by the neck before forcefully throwing it to the floor.
Attack after comedy club
Prosecutor Dan Lee told the court the couple had been at a comedy club in Leeds on March 28 this year and had both been drinking, Leeds Live reports.
He said: "At around 11pm, after the show, they returned home. During the evening, he had had eight bottles of alcohol and she had two bottles of prosecco. They had an argument at home. Her recollection is not good but he told officers she described to him she had been seeing someone else."
"She recalls him picking up her cat by the neck and throwing it forcefully into the living room. She told him to get out and then out of desperation, offering to pay him to leave. She remembers being on the floor as he was lifting her up by the hair and putting her on the floor. She says he must have slammed her face [on the floor.]"
999 call and injuries
The court heard it was Lynch who called 999 and told an ambulance call handler he had attacked his partner. He stated they had a "falling out" and he needed an ambulance as "she might be dying."
Officers attended the scene and found the woman was bleeding profusely from injuries to her nose and face. While under caution, Lynch told an officer: "Can I just say, she's the epitome of a horrible c*** officer?"
He was interviewed and told police the woman had told him the house belonged to her and she wanted him to leave. He claimed she told him she had been seeing someone else but "didn't want to talk about it."
Mr Lee said: "He accepted he grabbed her and she started to walk away and he pushed her to sit on a chair in the kitchen. When he pushed her down, her legs gave out beneath her and she fell to the floor."
Victim impact
A doctor who wrote an expert report said Lynch's account was not consistent with the injuries caused. The court heard she suffered fractures to her face, for which she has undergone surgery twice and is waiting for another, as well as bruising and a 1cm wound.
She has since suffered complications such as double vision and vertigo and has had a new eye socket put in place of one that had been shattered during the attack. Mr Lee said: "The expert report says the fractures must have required severe force and her injuries were consistent with a road traffic collision and falling from a higher ground. She had been slammed down onto the kitchen floor, multiple impacts could have been caused."
In a victim personal statement, the woman told the court both she and her family have been devastated by the attack. She said: "The fact it was committed by someone I loved has completely traumatised me. I'm now having therapy to deal with my emotions and my family are devastated too."
"I have had to have two separate reconstructive surgeries. My eye socket was made to replace the one shattered and I will require another surgery."
"I'm not the same person and will only go out if it is necessary for work or if anyone is with me. I had eight weeks off work and extra days for the surgeries and recovery...What happened to me was life altering. The physical wounds are healing but the domestic assault by the person meant to protect me will stay with me and my family forever."
The court heard Lynch, of no fixed abode, had two previous convictions on his record, but his last offence was 26 years ago and was not relevant.
Mitigating, Christopher Morton said a pre-sentence report had been prepared by the Probation Service for the court. He said: "On the day of the assault, they had been to the comedy club in Leeds and both had an amount to drink. They went home on public transport and there were no issues."
"They arrived home and she confirmed that she had formed a relationship with a man and told the defendant to move out because their relationship was over...He recognises from that stage onwards he had a moment of madness. She had serious injuries. I ask you to accept that he is remorseful. That is supported by the recording of the call made to 999..."
Recorder Catherine Silverton jailed Lynch for 55 months and made him the subject of a restraining order until further order.
