A thug repeatedly plunged his ex-partner's head underneath water as he attacked her in the bath and told her: "You're lucky I don't kill you with my bare hands." In an earlier attack he smashed her head against the floor before attacking her Range Rover as she tried to drive off.
Nico Hodgkinson, 28, of Merthyr Tydfil, unleashed two terrifying attacks on his ex-girlfriend at her home in Ebbw Vale in May and August last year. The victim thought she was going to drown as the 14st assailant held her by the neck and forced her head under the water.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Hodgkinson and the victim had been in a relationship but it "soured". The first attack took place on May 3 after the woman had been in contact with police regarding the defendant. He messaged her calling her a "grass" for "running to the police".
