'Highly dangerous' Hartlepool man jailed for choking ex-partner three times as judge says courts will protect women

Obsessive Patrick Wallace, 49, pinned the woman down on a sofa and put her in a choke hold with a knife to her neck after losing his temper.

Teesside Crown Court heard that when she came round after losing consciousness, Wallace said to her “obviously haven’t done the job proper” and started to choke her again.

Prosecutor Jon Harley said: “When she awoke he was standing over her and at that point [she] perhaps understandably thought that he was going to kill her.

“For a third time he took her by the neck and again put her into a choke hold.”

He said she felt pain, was fighting for breath and did anything she could to try to get him off but blacked out again.

Jailing him, the judge said the courts would do all they could to keep women safe.

Wallace was locked up for four years and 20 weeks after admitting three counts of actual bodily harm.

He also pleaded guilty to criminal damage for smashing his former partner’s mobile phone and assaulting her in January last year.

It was after he dragged her by the hair and kicked her in the ribs at their home after Wallace got upset over a Facebook message the victim had been sent.

The court heard how Wallace was paranoid and controlled his partner’s behaviour including preventing her from going out and made her put phone calls with others on loud speaker so he could hear.

In a statement read in court, she described how she has been badly affected by what Wallace did and suffers from depression and anxiety.

She added: “I didn’t want to go out any more. I even had to move house to feel safe.”

Wallace has a bad record for using extreme violence including a conviction for attempted murder and robbery in 1998 when he slit a man’s throat for which he was jailed for 11 years.

The court heard he posed a high risk of committing further crimes.

Ian Mullarkey, defending, said no serious injury was caused by the choking and that Wallace was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time.

But Judge Jonathan Carroll said he was not satisfied the PTSD was to blame for his behaviour which Wallace, of Sheriff Street, Hartlepool, trivialised as “daftness”.

He told him: “In my judgement you are a highly dangerous man. Your previous convictions speak for themselves.”

Judge Carroll added: “It’s hard to imagine the state of panic and fear that she must have endured within her own home.”

He added: “Matters of female safety and security are extremely high on the news agenda of these last few days.

"The courts can and will do what they can such to help women feel safe and actually be safe in their own home and on the streets.”

Wallace will also be on extended licence for 12 months when he is released from prison.

Hartlepool Refuge, which offers supports to victims of domestic violence, can be contacted on 03000 20 25 25 with further information available via www.myharbour.co.uk

Support your Mail and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on Pools and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.