‘I’ve had a lovely day’ woman tells partner after shopping and boozy lunch trip moments before he strangled her
Philip Evans, aged 71, attacked his partner of 13 years following a day out, court hears.
A Bridgnorth pensioner has been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out unpaid work after he strangled his partner of 13 years following a shopping trip and boozy lunch.
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Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Thursday that Philip Evans, aged 71, of Stanley Hall, Astley Abbotts, Bridgnorth, and his partner had been shopping for groceries before visiting a couple of pubs in the area.
Mr Robert Holt, prosecuting, told the court on their return home, Evans’ victim told the pensioner: “I’ve had a lovely day”
But Mr Holt said when they got inside their home, the woman asked Evans if he needed help getting the shopping out of the car, but he replied “no”.
Moments later, Mr Holt said Evans came back into the room and grabbed the woman around the throat.
“He told her ‘I could kill you’,” the barrister added.
He said police were then called and Evans was arrested.
The judge, Mr Recorder David Lock KC, asked the prosecutor: “But what precipitated the strangulation?”
Mr Holt replied: “The crown does not know, your honour.”
Rosemary Proctor, defending Evans, told the judge: “It did not come out of the blue”,.
She said there had been an argument over a “long-running family dispute”.
She added that Evans was a man of previous good character and said: “Truly it was a one off. Truly it was out of character. And truly it was a moment of madness.”
She said that Evans and his partner had also both been consuming alcohol on their day out, adding the pair had since separated after the incident, with Evans’ victim now living elsewhere.
Mr Lock told Evans, who admitted the single charge of intentional strangulation: “This is a serious offence.”
He added: “Strangulation has a very high chance of leading to neurological damage that can be permanent to a victim.
“That’s why the court takes strangulation very seriously.”
However, he said that he took into account Evans’ plea and the fact he was of previous good character into account and handed out a six months jail term but suspended the sentence for two years.
He also ordered the pensioner to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work in the community, pay £1,000 in court costs, £500 to his victim in compensation as well as a statutory victim surcharge.
The judge also slapped a restraining order on Evans banning him from contacting his victim.