A convicted killer hacked off his partner's "beautiful long hair" and took it away in a carrier bag because he thought she was seeing someone else.
Jeffrey Gosling, who has a previous conviction for a one-punch manslaughter, lost control after accusing his victim of being in contact with someone else as their relationship came to an end.
A court heard he smashed a phone into her face then armed himself with scissors and started cutting off large chunks of her hair.
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She was terrified and froze and said she believed she was going to die and thinks only his mother's intervention saved her.
After the attack, Gosling took her hair away in a carrier bag and punctured her car tyres.
The 33-year-old, of High Farm, Wallsend, was jailed for just three years in 2007 for manslaughter after killing a dad-of-three with a single punch then celebrating as if he had scored a goal.
Now he has walked free from court for the disgraceful attack on the woman, who he is no longer with.
Newcastle Crown Court heard they were in the process of splitting up on January 19 this year when the attack happened.
Rachel Glover, prosecuting, said: "He wanted to see her mobile phone because he believed she had been sending pictures and messages to other men.
"She agreed to show him the phone but at his mother's address because she felt it would be safer.
"He saw a picture on her phone which made him angry and he grabbed her and smashed her phone in her face.
"He took some scissors from the kitchen and started to cut off large amounts of her hair.
"She froze, was terrified and was pleading with him to stop.
"She said her hair was down to her waistline before the attack and she was well know for having beautiful long hair.
"She thought she was going to die and believed the only reason she didn't was because his mother intervened."
The victim was left with a swollen lump to her forehead and her hair was left with thin strands hanging down the side of her face.
A seasoned police officer, used to dealing with domestic abuse cases, was "taken aback by the severity of what he had done"
Gosling, who was captured on footage puncturing his victim's car tyres after the assault, was later arrested.
Miss Glover, who said Miss Evans described the hair hacking as "unforgivable", said: "Officers found him at another address with a carrier bag containing Miss Evans' hair."
The court heard Gosling has four previous convictions, including the manslaughter and two offences of criminal damage.
He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage in relation to the woman.
Recorder Geoffrey Pritchard sentenced him to 14 months suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work, £300 compensation, £300 costs and a requirement he does a "building better relationships programme".
The judge told him: "You became enraged with the complainant, who was your partner at the time, because you believed she was involved in an intimate relationship with someone else.
"You subjected her to a sustained and terrifying assault.
"You used scissors to cut a large amount of what had been extremely long hair, of which she was extremely happy and proud. She's particularly upset about the loss of her long hair.
"It was a degrading attack in the presence of another in a domestic situation."
The judge said he would suspend the sentence as there was a low risk of harm but a pre-sentence report said there is a risk of him causing serious harm to the victim.
Fiona Lamb, defending, said he had not committed any offences since 2010 and said he was "clearly a man who is capable of staying out of trouble".
She added he and his victim were together around 12 years and that he had not been convicted of being violent to her previously.
Miss Lamb said Gosling works at a pub in Wallsend and does charity work there.
She told the court: "This is out of character and there is genuine remorse.
"He said he felt sickened by this offence and he loves her.
"The cutting of the hair is extremely unpleasant. He said he doesn't know why it happened but candidly said he couldn't control how he felt when he saw some photos.
"He said he would get on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness and couldn't apologise enough."
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