David McKenna, 53, subjected his partner to months of horrific domestic violence and issued a chilling threat: ‘If you go to sleep, you might not wake up’
A violent alcoholic who terrorised his partner through months of brutal abuse has been jailed. David McKenna regularly imprisoned his girlfriend in his house whilst he popped round to see his mother or nipped out for cigarettes.
The 53-year-old threw away her make-up and banned her from wearing any clothing he deemed too revealing. Teesside Crown Court was told that when the woman attempted to leave McKenna’s property in November last year, he booted her in the ribs before restraining her and battering her head with his fists.
He then proceeded to stomp on her legs, reports Teesside Live. McKenna appeared before the court on Monday via video link from Holme House Prison. Joe Hedworth, prosecuting, explained that during their night out celebrating McKenna’s birthday on December 15, “she was sober; he was paralytic”.
“She walked on by herself, after he stopped to talk to someone on the way home,” he continued. “When he got home, he turned violent.” The victim subsequently revealed that he “beat her black and blue.” The court was told that McKenna battered the woman until “her face was double it’s size”.
He refused to escort her to hospital the following day. The pair later reconciled and by March had travelled to Birmingham for a family celebration. However, Mr Hedworth informed the court that McKenna accused his partner of “ignoring him” throughout the evening and flew into a rage when she chatted to another man whilst fetching drinks at the bar. “He called her a s***. The doorman asked him to leave,” stated Mr Hedworth.
McKenna accused his partner of engaging in a sexual act with a man at the bar and later at the Holiday Inn, where she tried to barricade herself in the bathroom to avoid an assault. McKenna cornered her against the wall and struck her in the head.
“The hotel manager knocked on the door and asked him to leave,” continued Mr Hedworth, “there had been complaints”. The following day, McKenna confined his girlfriend in his Stockton home.
He left for a night of drinking and cocaine use, returning at 6am. “He punched her in the ribs, stomach and head,” said Mr Hedworth, “and kept questioning her about the man at the bar, at his cousin’s party.”
At 11.30am, the court was informed that a BT engineer arrived to install fibre broadband. The engineer overheard McKenna verbally abusing his partner, calling her a “fat s***”, and saw him pinning her against the wall as she resisted going back inside.
The engineer spoke to the victim who indicated she needed help. He then left and dialled 999. McKenna was arrested but denied any misconduct. He was subsequently released on bail.
On May 17, during an argument, he smashed a glass ashtray into his partner’s jaw. She described experiencing “intense pain and crying”, but he told her to “shut the f*** up.”
When the victim went upstairs to check her injuries in the bathroom mirror, McKenna slammed her face into the wall tiles, causing a cut on her forehead from which blood began to seep.
McKenna issued his partner with the chilling threat: “If I was you I wouldn’t go to sleep, as you might not wake up.” The thug offered an apology the following morning, warning he would “get jail time” if she reported the incident.
Days afterwards, McKenna unleashed his final brutal assault. He tore open the woman’s lip and battered the gash on her forehead.
Mr Hedworth detailed how he wrapped a throw around the woman’s throat and forced one end into her mouth: “She felt sheer panic. He told her he would ‘drain every ounce of blood out of her body until she was dead.”
The victim sent an email to a friend stating she was “in danger” and requested police be contacted. When officers arrived at the scene, McKenna fled through the back door.
In her victim impact statement, she revealed suffering a subsequent mental breakdown. “It’s going to be a lifelong battle to keep myself on track, after what David did to me” she said.
McKenna, from Hampton Road in Stockton, surrendered himself at Middlesbrough police station.
Following initial denials, he admitted guilt to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, intentional strangulation, and controlling and coercive behaviour.
In her plea for leniency, Michele Turner defending, described the 10-month relationship as one “was between two people who are co-dependent, not only on alcohol, but on other substances.”
McKenna’s daughters from a previous relationship were present in court as Ms Turner revealed that their mother had vouched for McKenna’s character and his children regarded him as “a great father.”
McKenna’s defence lawyer stated that his downfall was “almost instant” following his break up with the mother of his children. He moved into a flat alone, without the support of his family.
“He descended into alcohol,” she added. “He lost his job. Drugs came later.”
Judge Jeremy Hill-Baker sentenced McKenna to six years and three months in prison. An indefinite restraining order was also issued, barring him from contacting his victim again.
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