A man subjected his mother to a "terrifying attack" in which he held her head under water while she gasped for air. John Robert Butler of Mostyn Road, Mostyn, was sentenced to three years in prison and handed a three-year restraining order at Mold Crown Court today.
The 36-year-old appeared in court for sentencing after being convicted of criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, North Wales Live reports. The court heard Butler had burst in on his mother, Teresa Butler, while she was in the bath and proceeded to hold her head under water during an attack on April 23 this year.
Frances Wilmott, prosecuting, told the hearing Teresa Butler often helped her son with a shop he ran, but on the day of the offence he had demanded she help him immediately. The court heard Butler had called her mother asking her to go to the shop, but later remarked "Don't f****** bother."
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Ms Butler was having a bath at her home in Bagillt when her son suddenly broke through the locked door and began threatening her. After telling his mother "get out of that bath and get to the shop," Butler grabbed her neck and held her head under water, at which point Ms Butler began to choke and gasp for air.
The defendant let go after between 10 and 20 seconds, and left the room, but later returned holding a knife. He then dragged his mother out of the bath, at which point she fell into a nearby unit. Butler was distracted when a phone rang, giving his mother the chance to lock herself in a room. The defendant later left the house but the attack left Ms Butler in shock.
The next day, the defendant called his mother more than 50 times, telling her it was "her fault" and "this is the final nail in your coffin". In a victim impact statement, Ms Butler, who has asthma and heart problems, said the attack left her "shaking and sick."
Despite the terrifying ordeal inflicted by her son, she said "a mother's love will never end". Robin Boag, defending, told the court Butler had joined the army aged 16 and completed three tours of duty in Iraq which caused him to develop PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).
He added that Butler had not been taking his medication at the time of the offences but acknowledged "it was an extremely unpleasant, nasty attack on his mother". Judge Nicola Saffman handed Butler a three-year sentence, with half to be spent in custody and the other half on licence in the community.
She told the defendant: "Mr Butler, don't let this sentence crush you, use it to rehabilitate yourself. I am sentencing you to 18 months in custody and 18 on licence and by that stage you will hopefully been in control of your PTSD and you will be medicated and there will be other services available to you once you are on your licence period."
Butler was ordered not to contact his mother by any means, nor attend her home address for three years. He must also pay a £190 victim surcharge payable three months after his release. To get more court news straight to your inbox, subscribe to our free crime and punishment newsletter here.
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