Belfast thug who told partner ‘I am going to cut you into bits and hide you' jailed

A Belfast man with a history of violent offences against women was jailed for 20 months today (Wednesday) for attacking his former partner.

As well as jumping on her stomach when she thought she pregnant and strangling her after locking her in his house, Jordan Samuel Spence also threatened to kill his ex-partner with a sword and told ‘I am going to cut you into bits and hide you where no-one will find you’.

As he sentenced father-of-three Spence at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Philip Gilpin told him he would serve 20 months in custody followed by 20 months on licence.

The 32-year old from Lawnbrook Drive in the city pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage, threats to kill and false imprisonment - all of which were aggravated by reason of domestic abuse.

On March 9 last year, the victim and Spence - who were no longer in a relationship - got into a verbal argument at his home. When she tried to leave, Spence slammed the front door shut, grabbed her thumb and pulled her arm back. He then pushed her over, jumped on her stomach and punched her twice in the face.

The victim bit Spence in self-defence and at this point he took her phone, threw it on the ground, stamped on it, smashed it with a hammer then threw it in a mop bucket. As she tried to leave via the back door, Spence grabbed her again, pulled her back and locked the door with a padlock.

She asked Spence to let her go but he refused this requested then threw her on the stairs, punched her repeatedly in the face and strangled her. He then picked up a sword and threatened to kill her. She managed to escape the property and made off from the scene in her car. She then stopped a member of the public and the PSNI were alerted.

When police located her, they observed that she had a number of injuries including swelling to her face, red marks on her neck and a swollen thumb.

As a result, officers went to Spence home and he was arrested. During a police interview, he denied an altercation had occurred and claimed his ex had turned up at his house distressed but that he told her to leave.

When Judge Gilpin queried whether or not the victim was pregnant, a Crown barrister said “the prosecution couldn’t prove at the material time that she was pregnant ... but the case that the defendant has accepted is that she thought she was pregnant and he knew that”.

Judge Gilpin said that after reading a Victim impact Statement, it was clear the incident left the woman in physical pain. She also spoke of having flashbacks, nightmares, depression and anxiety as a result of the attack. The Judge then addressed defence barrister Michael Boyd regarding comments made by Spence to a Probation Officer.

Pointing out that Spence had minimised his actions and put forward a different account of what occurred, Judge Gilpin said that in the pre-sentence report the defendant had “taken no responsibility”.

Mr Boyd told the Judge his client “is content to be sentenced on the basis that he pleaded guilty to all of these matters”.

The defence barrister revealed in his childhood, Spence both witnessed and was the victim of domestic violence and “is a man who needs help and assistance as much as he needs punishment”.

Mr Boyd added that whilst on remand, Spence has “made some constructive use of his time” and is addressing his drug misuse issues.

During today’s sentencing, it emerged that Spence has 43 previous convictions which include charges involving domestic violence, as well as chronic mental health issues.

Noting last March’s incident involved both strangulation and the use of a weapon, Judge Gilpin passed the 40 month sentence and imposed a five-year Restraining Order which bans Spence from contacting his former partner.

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