A coked-up brute made his girlfriend live her life "on edge" and "always waiting for the next assault".
Stephen Crook whimpered and sobbed in the dock as a court heard how for seven years he subjected his partner to "consistent abuse". The 32-year-old would punch, kick and spit at his victim.
Liverpool Crown Court heard much of the abuse centred around Crooks' demands for cash for cocaine or to pay off drug debts. He even threatened to "chop off her head and put it in a box".
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The woman, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, met Crook, of Exeter Street, St Helens, when she was 17 and he was 23. Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, said he first became abusive after she mentioned bumping into an ex-boyfriend.
The victim described how he was "physically and verbally abusive". Ms Nemat said: "He wouldn't allow her to shower or go to the toilet alone and he would stand outside the door."
The woman wasn't allowed friends or to have contact with family, when he did let her visit her mum she had to FaceTime him to prove where she was, and he didn't let her use social media. Ms Nemat said he would punch and headbutt walls and doors, scream at her, squeeze her face and threaten her.
In June 2017, he received a community order for battery against the woman. Ms Nemat said that involving him hitting her head against a wall, punching her to the side of the head causing her to fall to the floor, then jumping on her, threatening to set her on fire, strangling her until she lost consciousness and suffered a fit, and Crook threatening her with a knife to the throat.
Ms Nemat said the woman ended the relationship in early 2020 and moved in with her mum, but Crook constantly rang her, turned up at the address and threatened to kill himself if they didn't get back together. After a period of him behaving normally, their relationship resumed, until he went to prison in September 2020.
After his release that December, the woman took him back but he started attacking her again and, in October 2021, she said she was leaving him. Ms Nemat said: "He said he would chop off her head and put it in a box."
The court heard he would grab her throat and drag her around. Crook warned if she went to the police "he would make it his duty to find and kill her".
On February 21, when she didn't answer his demands for money for cocaine, he threw a cupboard door that had come off its hinges at her and a mobile phone at her hip. Ms Nemat said: "He put his hands around her throat and squeezed her neck. He continued until her nose began to bleed."
Crook stopped and said "sorry" but the victim was "terrified". She left their home but he contacted her around 300 times and threatened to kill himself if he went to jail.
He was arrested and interviewed, when he said the allegations were "rubbish" and malicious, and that she was the aggressor. Crook later admitted controlling and coercive behaviour between 2015 and 2022 and assault causing actual bodily harm, in relation to the February 21 attack.
He has six previous convictions for 11 offences and was last sentenced for four counts of battery and threatening behaviour in September 2020, when he was jailed for 14 weeks.
Ms Nemat said that was over an incident outside a primary school. Parents told Crook to leave because he was under the influence, but he tried to spit at one parent and punched another in the head.
The court heard he and his father had written letters to the court. Ben Jones, defending, said: "There is absolutely no attempt to victim blame here.
"The defendant particularly disavows the content of his police interview. He's written that letter when sober and free of the influence of cocaine and recognises the problems he has."
He added: "The defendant seeks to emphasise that when sober he is utterly ashamed of his behaviour. He realises that condign punishment must follow."
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Mr Jones said during 10 weeks spent on remand, Crook had accepted he needed help to address his cocaine addiction and what lay behind it "not just for his own sake, but for the sake of any future partner". Both he and his victim referred to a "childhood trauma" that led to his drug use.
Recorder Michelle Brown said the couple's near 10-year relationship had "descended into violence" where the woman was "persistently and consistently abused". She said the victim was "isolated", had to lie and make up stories to explain away bruises, and described "feeling like a prisoner in her own home".
Recorder Brown said: "She lived her life on edge. She was always waiting for the next assault."
Jailing him for two years and three months, the judge said: "You say you're utterly ashamed and so you should be."
Recorder Brown made a five-year restraining order. Crook cried as he was sent down.
If you have been affected by any issues mentioned in this article, you can contact the Domestic Violence Helpline for free on 0808 2000 247 or any of the following organisations:
People can also call Merseyside Police on 101 or, if they are in immediate danger, call 999.
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