A Brighton man has been jailed for strangling his ex-girlfriend during a row on a camping trip near Steyning.
Tom Verrall, 33, a bankrupt electrician, of Gordon Road, Fishersgate, admitted assaulting Millie Windsor, causing her actual bodily harm (ABH).
Verrall, formerly of Lyminster Road, Brighton, also admitted stalking Miss Windsor but denied putting her in fear of violence or causing her serious alarm or distress. He also denied strangling her.
But he was convicted by a jury at Brighton Crown Court earlier this year and jailed yesterday (Friday 3 May) by the trial judge, Recorder William Featherby, at Inner London Crown Court.
The jury was told that Verrall lost his temper and threw Miss Windsor out of his Transit van like a bag of rubbish, leaving her with a broken tooth and bruising.
Mr Recorder Featherby jailed Verrall for 20 months for the ABH and sentenced him to 18 months to be served concurrently – at the same time – for strangling Miss Windsor.
Verrall was also jailed for 18 months to be served concurrently for stalking her and putting her in fear of violence.
The judge imposed a 10-year restraining order and ordered Verrall to pay a victim surcharge of £187.
Miss Windsor gave evidence during the trial, telling the jury that Verrall had flipped her over so she was face down on the mattress in the back of his van and pinned her down.
He put his hands over her nose and mouth so that she was unable to breathe and she said that, as soon as she could, “I just started screaming. I said he was trying to kill me.”
She said that he threw her out of the van “like a bag of rubbish” and chased after her but a nearby camper stood between the pair and Verrall went away.
Verrall sat in the dock looking down with his head in his hands as Miss Windsor recounted what happened.
In his own evidence, he admitted literally picking her up and throwing her out of his Transit at the campsite near Steyning.
The pair had been drinking and argued over whether Verrall had been honest with her when telling her that he risked going to prison for fraud after his business failed.
His business went bust during the coronavirus pandemic, he told the court, and he went bankrupt.
Even after they were no longer in a relationship, Miss Windsor had been a supportive friend and provided a listening ear, the jury was told.
The couple had lived together briefly, in Woodingdean, but their on-off relationship was volatile and she moved out.
After the campsite row, Verrall admitted trying to love-bomb Miss Windsor. But Shona Probert, prosecuting, said that his behaviour went well beyond that and had caused her genuine fear, alarm and distress.
The jury agreed and he was told that his prison sentence would give him time to reflect.
What is the point of concurrent sentences? Why such a short sentence for trying to strangle someone? Surely that’s attempted murder.
It comes down to the arguments that were made for or against the defendant’s mens rea and actus reus, intentions and actions.
During a lover’s tiff, for example, it could be argued as a mitigating circumstance that aggressive actions were not premeditated and done in “the heat of the moment”, and that could potentially lower sentencing if the judge agrees. Does that help answer your question a bit?