A violent thug strangled his girlfriend, put his hand over her mouth and dragged her by the hair during a "terrifying" attack.
Thomas Lowther suddenly launched the unprovoked assault when she returned home from a night out with friends. After waking him to gain access to their address, the 27-year-old saw red and immediately placed his hands around her neck and squeezed hard, a court heard.
The terrified victim struggled to breath before Lowther finally let go and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her further into his house, prosecutors said. The woman begged Lowther not to kill her, which only prompted him to put his hand over her mouth.
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Newcastle Magistrates' Court was told that the woman did manage to break free and run after she managed to hit Lowther with a shoe. He was later arrested and appeared in the dock earlier this year but pleaded not guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
However, the thug, of Elmsfield Square, Gosforth, was found guilty after a trial. Jennifer McKelvin, prosecuting, said the victim had been out with friends on September 5 last year when she became separated from her friends and returned home. She saw through the window that Lowther was asleep and woke him by knocking on the window.
Mrs McKelvin continued: "The defendant immediately became aggressive, shouting "You idiot, go to the other side". He then put his hands around her neck and throat and began to squeeze hard. She felt immediate discomfort and struggled to breath. She was pushed against some bikes, causing her to fall to the floor.
"The defendant got on top of her, still with his hands around her neck. She tried to shout and knew her mouth was open but no noise came out. This caused her to become very scared. He was shouting at her. He let go then grabbed her hair and used it to pull her to the other side of the hallway."
The court heard that the petrified victim begged "please don't kill me" but Lowther put his hands over her mouth in a bid to silence her. Fortunately, the brave woman managed to escape after she hit Lowther with a shoe and managed to flee and flag down a taxi.
The victim then travelled to Newcastle city centre, where she found a police officer and reported what had happened. Lowther was later arrested but denied any wrongdoing.
Janice Hall, defending, said Lowther was currently unemployed but had a history of being in work and was currently in his second year studying for a Master's, postgraduate science degree at Northumbria University. Miss Hall added: "He recognises he was drinking too heavily and came away from that and has now reached the stage where he drinks socially but only occasionally."
Miss Hall said Lowther accepted the outcome of his trial and now expressed remorse for his behaviour. However, magistrates still deemed that their powers to finalise the case were insufficient and committed Lowther to Newcastle Crown Court for sentence. He was released on conditional bail to appear there on January 20.
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