A "controlling, jealous" man lunged at his girlfriend and cruelly told her he hoped her sick mother would die.
John Rice, of Chestnut Street, Southport, attacked his girlfriend as she sat in The Wellington Pub on Eastbank Street at around 2pm on August 14 last year. The 56-year-old was caught on CCTV rushing at the woman and knocking her to the floor, breaking her hip, before running away.
Just one day earlier, on August 13, he had lunged at the woman over the fence of Leo's Bar on Nevill Street, and threatened to assault her brother and smash up her car.
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When the woman told Rice to leave her alone as her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and she "had enough to deal with", he said: "Good, I hope she dies and then you'll have no one".
He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, June 14, after pleading guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm and harassment.
The court heard his victim had to have hip surgery as a result of his attack on her, and had to walk with crutches for three months.
Prosecutor Graham Pickavance said: "(The woman) says she's been terrified as a result of what happened. She was very concerned about the (hip) surgery. She was not comfortable going out. She was concerned that if she was in Southport, he would come near her, and this had a traumatic effect on her."
The court heard Rice and the woman, also in her 50s, had been in a relationship since 2019. But "it was not a particularly happy relationship" due to Rice's jealous, controlling behaviour.
Simon Christie, defending, said Rice was an army veteran who suffered from PTSD after witnessing the deaths of his fellow soldiers, and that he had turned to alcohol as a way of dealing with his problems, adding that he was attempting to reduce his drinking.
He also provided a letter from the daughter of Rice's current partner, which he said "speaks in glowing terms of the way the defendant has assisted her mother, who has had very acute personal difficulties".
Addressing Rice, Judge Alex Leach KC said: "(The woman) was in a relationship with you from 2019; it was an unhappy one. You became incredibly jealous and it's clear you made her life a misery during the course of that relationship. There were two incidents that escalated that toxic relationship into violence.
"On August 13 when (the woman) was with a friend, you lunged over the fence when you saw her. You threatened to smash her car up. You said, cruelly, that you hoped her mother would die.
"On August 14 (the woman) was in The Wellington pub during the day. You pushed her while she was in a seated position, and when she stood up you pushed her again and she fell to the floor... It's clear you were aggressive, you had lost your temper and you pushed her as a result."
He added: "She gave a statement describing the level of fear you caused her. You were controlling and jealous and you made her life a misery while you were with her."
He sentenced Rice to a total of 17 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He ordered him to complete a building better relationships programme and 20 days of rehabilitation, and to pay £1,200 court costs, and £1,200 compensation to the victim. He was also given a 10-year restraining order.
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