The boyfriend of a mum who fell to her death from a flat window deliberately flouted a restraining order on three separate days leading up to the incident.
Alan McMahon repeatedly ignored a legal order to stay away from tragic Linda O'Brien, with whom he was said to have had a "toxic relationship".
The 38-year-old was at his partner's fourth floor home - painting in the flat - on the night she died, in "complete defiance" of the ruling, a judge told him.
McMahon, who was arrested on suspicion of Ms O'Brien's murder but released on bail, was also with her the day before her body was found at her Greenall Court, Prescot address, and again three days beforehand.
On one of those occasions, he was sitting in her car passenger seat, having been drinking alcohol, and grabbed the 49-year-old by the hair and chin while threatening to put the handbrake on.
About a month earlier, in another breach of the restraining order, a neighbour heard Ms O'Brien cry out, "help me," which prompted the resident to call 999.
Mike Stephenson, prosecuting, said police arrived at Greenall Court, but both parties said "things were alright" and so McMahon was sent to his mum's home.
In one breach, the day before Ms O'Brien died, she had told her neighbour she was "ripping up floor" in her flat, and that her partner was helping her.
Later, the same resident took a phone call from Ms O'Brien asking if they could borrow a jigsaw drill from him, and they came round together to collect it.
But later, she sent her friend a message stating how McMahon had gone to Tesco, at Cables Retail Park, and stolen a 55-inch TV, costing £299.
In the early hours of May 9, police arrived at the property, following Ms O'Brien's fatal fall.
McMahon said he was painting in the flat and hadn't seen his girlfriend for 10 minutes, prompting him to look out the window and see her lying on the floor below, bleeding and with a head injury, from which she died.
Today, a judge lifted reporting restrictions, imposed on the case 11 days ago, which means the ECHO can now reveal McMahon was jailed for 20 months for the breaches and theft.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how, on occasions, Ms O'Brien was "frightened" of McMahon, who also admitted stealing two bottles of vodka from a Co-op in Rainhill, which he asked to be taken into account.
Prosecutors said the Huyton man, of Devon Way, had 35 previous convictions for 60 offences, including offences against Ms O'Brien featuring violence.
The court was told he had offences on his record of witness intimidation, battery, actual bodily harm, causing racially aggravated harassment or distress, and a restraining order breach concerning a different person.
The initial restraining order concerning Ms O'Brien was imposed in September 2019 after he assaulted her and was handed a 12-week jail sentence.
Later, he would tell police he "made a conscious decision to ignore it".
Judge David Aubrey, QC, told McMahon: "These offences were persistent breaches in April and May.
"It indicates you had a complete defiance as far as court orders were concerned."
Julian Nutter, defending McMahon, who admitted theft and three restraining order breaches, said his client endured a "terrible childhood" and was "addicted to alcohol".
He said: "This was a toxic relationship in which the person who has been told to stay away has been the subject of invitations to come back with consequences we are all well aware of.
"He loved her, she loved him, and tragedy that sits in the background, if ever there was a wake up call, that tragedy is it.
"He is presumed innocent of that poor lady's death.
"He is going to live with this for the rest of his life.
"He will never be the same person again.
"He's going to blame himself for the drink that day and the events and he is going to live with it forever.
"He had started to make an effort to build something of his life.
"There are other matters very much playing on his mind at the moment."
Police say Ms O'Brien's death is currently being treated as "unexplained".
Ms O'Brien was the mum of Dylan Westall, who last year was convicted of the manslaughter of 17-year-old James Meadows, who was shot in the head on a motorbike in Huyton in 2017.
He was also convicted of conspiring to possess firearms with intent to endanger life.
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Westall was jailed for life, with a minimum of 22 years in prison.
