A thug throttled the mother of his child and bit her during a sickening assault in her own home. Barry Purcell told his terrified victim "I'm not going to stop until you're dead" as he repeatedly attacked her, a court heard.
During the vile incident on August 12 2021, Purcell also spat at the woman, threw a suitcase at her and used one of her shoes to hit her in the head. It all happened while their young child was also present, prosecution barrister Callum Ross told Bolton Crown Court. After being arrested, Purcell repeatedly breached his bail conditions by threatening the woman and harassing her.
Purcell, 28, of Duke Street, Bolton, has today (October 4) been jailed for two years after being convicted of battery, criminal damage, harassment, witness intimidation, and malicious communications in relation to the victim. He was also convicted of aggravated vehicle taking with an accident occurring causing injury, following a separate incident in April 2021.
On that occasion, Mr Ross told the court that Purcell had been drinking heavily and was driven to a house in Ainsdale, Southport, by one of his friends. When his friend got out of the Citroen C2, Purcell jumped in the driver's seat, while the friend's six-year-old child moved into the passenger seat.
Purcell sped off, zig-zagging in the road and having to swerve to avoid an oncoming car. Despite there being speed bumps in the road, witnesses said that Purcell reached speeds of 70mph.
The six-year-old boy, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown forward and hit his head on the windscreen. Purcell fled the scene and the child was taken to Ormskirk Hospital. He was discharged the following day, with no serious injuries.
As a result of the incident, the child's mother lost custody and now just sees him six hours per week. In a victim impact statement, she said: "I’ve been left feeling very upset about what has happened to my son. I feel so sorry for him because he is the one that has had to go through this whole situation and has been affected most by it.
"My son no longer likes going in the car, he now suffers with anxiety, I’ve gone from having full care to just six hours contact a week because social services removed him from my care and he now resides with his father. I feel angry about what has happened."
It was while on bail for that offence that Purcell turned up at the home of his ex-girlfriend on August 12 2021, around three months after they had broken up. The woman, who also has a "very young" daughter with Purcell, heard him banging on the front door and demanding to be let in.
After ignoring him, Purcell punched her bedroom window, smashing it and cutting his hand. He then let himself into the home through the unlocked back door.
When the woman told Purcell to leave, he responded: "You need to shut the f*** up or the neighbours will call the police", before throwing a suitcase at her. He then hit her in the head with a shoe and put both his hands around her neck until she couldn't breathe.
Purcell tried to bite the woman's nose but she managed to get him off and run through the back door. However, he dragged her back in by her hair and locked the door.
He then tried to throw a glass at her, bit her left arm, pushed her to the floor, kicked her in the leg, and spat at her twice. During the vile assault, Purcell told his victim: "You deserve to be hit with a hammer” and “I’m not going to stop until you’re dead”.
Between September 2021 and February of this year, Purcell sent a number of threatening messages to his victim. On one occasion, he told her "You’re both getting it. The child is going into care."
Purcell also threatened to distribute explicit images of the woman and tried to get her to drop charges, ringing her and shouting: “Watch what happens if you don’t drop the charges, you’ll see". In a victim impact statement, she said that her mental health has suffered and added: "I only get up because of the baby. If it was not for her, I don’t know what I'd do."
The Honorary Recorder of Bolton Judge Martin Walsh described Purcell's driving offence as a “grotesquely reckless act” as he jailed him for two years. He also imposed a restraining order to stop Purcell contacting his victim and banned him from driving for four years.
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