A cold-blooded domestic abuser watched football with his neighbour before whacking him over the head with a plank of wood.
Anthony Fox attacked Michael Bailey and his partner Victoria Eaton inside their home on Falkirk Grove in Wigan on October 7 last year after being invited round to "watch the football and have a drink". The Liverpool Echo reports that Fox lashed out when he was challenged over his behaviour, punching Ms Eaton in the face.
He then hit Mr Bailey in the face and punched a fence, knocking the panels loose. Picking one up, he brought it down on Mr Bailey's head, knocking him out and causing serious internal injuries, before ripping their Ring doorbell off the wall and leaving.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Mr Bailey suffered a brain haemorrhage as a result of the attack and spent four days in hospital. He had to take 12 weeks off of his job at a children's home to recover.
Fox, 37, of Widnes, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, battery and criminal damage, as well as a charge of controlling and coercive behaviour linked to the abusive of his ex-girlfriend Ashley Lunt. The court was told that "domestic incidents would occur every time he drank".
Prosecutors said he broke her phone 10 times, regularly threatened to kill her if she left him, controlled access to social media, turned up unannounced on work nights out and assaulted her on more than 10 occasions. In one twisted incident he chased her in his car and tried to run into her.
Fox would "apologise and replace her phones when sober", prosecutors said, but matters came to a head on March 4 2022. After driving her to a meal with friends, he left her around 100 messages, and began drinking after she returned home.
The next morning, as she tried to leave for work, he wrenched so hard at the door handle of her car that he ripped it off. Ms Lunt then drove to a police station to report months of abuse, including an assault at a Burton-on-Trent hotel in September 2021, and attempting to strangle her a month later.
In another terrifying incident, he raised an axe over her and told her it was "the end". And during holidays abroad in November 2021 and January 2022 he destroyed electronic devices belonging to her and ripped up her passport.
Ms Lunt bravely read an emotional statement to the court in which she said: "I am not same Ashley I was when I met you. I can't love or trust again.
"What did I do wrong? Did I deserve everything you did to me?
"You treated me like a belonging. When the monster came out, I was scared for my life."
Fox – who previously served in the Army reserves for six years - has 19 previous convictions for 30 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm. This was his first conviction in around 14 years.
Paul Wood, defending, told the court: "He has the ability to be able to stay out of trouble. He is somebody who does have some good qualities. He is a hard-working man and a committed father.
"The real crux of what has gone on here is alcohol. He knows it needs to be addressed.
"He is somebody who says he wants to change his life around. Once he gets out, he wants to put this behind him and become a positive member of society."
However, Judge Gary Woodhall sentenced Fox to four years and 10 months in prison. The thug was also handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Lunt, Mr Bailey and Ms Eaton for a decade.
Sentencing Fox, the judge said: "You behaved like a jealous partner seeking to control her movements. When you lost your temper, you became violent towards her.
"She felt completely trapped. She still finds it hard to put into words the effect of what you did had on her.
"You have apologised for your actions and expressed regret. You have acknowledged you have a problem with alcohol.
"There is clearly a significant degree of remorse and regret. Your antecedents show you have an ability to break the cycle of offending."
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