A controlling bully punched and strangled his partner during four horrendous attacks after she told him she wanted to end their relationship. On one occasion he dragged her back into the house by her hair in front of onlookers.
Jason May, 35, attacked his now ex-girlfriend at her home in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, throughout the course of their relationship between 2021 and 2022. A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard one of the attacks resulted in the victim falling on top of a glass table, causing it to smash into smithereens.
Prosecutor Alex Greenwood said the first assault took place on November 8, 2021, when the couple were arguing in bed. May was screaming and got on top of the victim before headbutting her to the face. She described hearing a noise that sounded like her nose breaking and felt "upset and scared".
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She later attended a garage to buy cigarettes and was asked by a staff member if she needed assistance. She realised she was bleeding, had two black eyes and was crying. The police had been called to the house, but May was present when the victim was questioned and she said she had been headbutted by the dog.
The second assault took place on January 10 last year when the victim told May she couldn't tolerate his behaviour and wanted him to move out. She ran out of the door when the defendant reacted badly and he chased her while shouting: "Get back in the f****** house". He grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto a bank, causing hair extensions to be ripped out and left a bald patch.
May continued to hold her by the hair and dragged her back into the house, using it to throw her into the property. Once inside, he shouted at her "I have given up everything for you" and she told him she was "broken" and he should leave. The defendant hit her to the face and right ear with the back of his hand. The police attended again but he told the victim to shut the door on them and said "Everyone is entitled to an argument".
The third assault took place on February 23 last year when the defendant strangled the victim while she was lying in bed before picking up a ceramic pot and throwing it at her. She attended Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran to receive treatment for a fractured wrist.
On March 14 last year, the victim arranged to go for a drink with a friend. But while she was out, May phoned her and screamed at her, telling her he had been waiting for two hours for her to call. He turned up at the pub 15 minutes later and shouted and screamed at her, before taking the victim's phone and smashing it in front of the pub.
The final assault took place days later in the early hours of March 16 when the victim found messages from other women on May's phone. She woke him up and he claimed the accusations were "all lies" but the victim told him to leave. The defendant kicked the bedroom door and shouted to the victim "Come back here".
Mr Greenwood said May pushed the victim on the bed and punched her to the left eye, causing a laceration. The defendant looked "panicked" and told her to clean up before putting his hand around her throat and strangling her. This caused her eyes to bulge and she thought she was going to pass out.
May let go but "backhanded" her to her face, causing swollen lips and black eyes. She screamed for the defendant to stop, told him to get out and threatened to strike him. He grabbed hold of the victim's hair and dragged her into another bedroom, and threw her onto a bed. She got up and ran to the window, opened it and screamed for help.
The defendant then hit or pushed the victim, causing her to fall onto a glass table which smashed underneath her, and closed the window. She went into the kitchen, followed by May who opened the cutlery drawer before leaving the house.
May, now of Forest Edge, Drybrook, in Gloucestershire, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of criminal damage. The court heard he had nine previous convictions related to drug offences.
In a victim personal statement read out to the court, the victim said: "The impact from this sustained campaign of violence has led me to suffering severe emotional and psychological damage. I am anxious and worried about the defendant, I fear leaving the house and I suffer panic attacks."
In mitigation, Tabitha Walker said her client was addicted to cocaine at the time of the offences which had an impact on his behaviour and through process. Since the end of the relationship with the victim, the defendant is building a relationship with his daughter with a previous partner.
Judge Richard Williams said the defendant had subject the victim to "violence in her own home". He added: "You hit her, dragged her by the hair, strangled her, and hit her with an ash tray."
May was sentenced to a total of 45 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim for five years.
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