A violent thug subjected his partner to a terrifying ordeal spanning more than three hours which left her "utterly convinced she was going to die". Craig Merrigan repeatedly strangled the woman, headbutted her, punched and kicked her, threw dog bones at her, threatened to kill her and smashed his way through a bathroom door as she sought refuge from his drink and drug-fuelled onslaught.
Attack details
Newcastle Crown Court heard they began a relationship in November 2024 after he was released from prison. It started well but quickly deteriorated when he moved from a bail hostel to his own address and by October last year it had become an on-off relationship.
On October 12 they had been to a children's birthday party and after an argument, Merrigan left. In the early hours of the following morning, the woman was at her friend's home when Merrigan started sending abusive messages saying she should be with him.
He threatened to go to the woman's mother's home, where she was living at the time, and cause damage. He then attended that empty address without permission and sent her an image of him in bed and made reference to smashing a plate.
The woman agreed to go to his home to meet him and when she got there he greeted her by "nutting" her in the face and punching her in the head, the court heard. He then punched and kicked her, interrogated her about where she had been, smashed her laptop, threw dog bones at her and strangled her three times. At one point he picked up a kitchen knife and threatened to kill her.
The woman locked herself in the bathroom and texted her mum for help but he punched a hole in the door and kicked the door of its hinges to get to her. He was holding a knife and she begged him to put it down.
He then became apologetic and asked her to go to bed with him. She said she wanted to leave but he said she wasn't leaving. She went outside and he dragged her back in by her hair.
Victim impact
Matthew Hopkins, prosecuting, said: "The victim's ordeal worsened. Over the next three hours he demanded to be shown her phone and when she refused he would punch or strangle her."
"He would then apologise and this cycle repeated five to ten times over this three hours. The defendant said she could not leave until he had seen her phone."
Eventually, at 6.40am, she finally persuaded him to let her go so she could pick her son up and take him to school. Once out, she called her mum who phoned the police.
She was left with extensive bruising and tenderness, including to her jaw and neck. In a victim impact statement, she said: "On the night he attacked me I was utterly convinced I was going to die."
"When he was strangling me and holding me against my will the terror was so overwhelming." She said part of her wanted to stop breathing to make the ordeal end but added: "The only reason I'm alive is the image of my son. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my child behind."
She added: "I'm literally terrified of my own shadow and know I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life." She said she lost her career as a result of the attack and her son has suffered after seeing her injured.
She added: "There's no sentence that can be handed down to Craig that would match the terror, pain and anguish he has caused."
Sentence
Merrigan, 39, of Somerset Cottages, Silksworth, Sunderland, who has 66 previous convictions, including for serious violence, blackmail and domestic abuse, pleaded guilty to burglary, assault, criminal damage, strangulation and threatening with a bladed article and was jailed for 46 months and given a lifelong restraining order.
David Callan, defending, said he has been recalled to prison until March 2028 on his previous sentence. He added that reports concluded that Merrigan, who is a grandfather, is not dangerous when he is not drunk. He said he previously had the licence for a pub in Cramlington and also set up a removals business.
