Man grabbed knives during terrifying incident and slashed girlfriend's neck
A sadistic bully with a history of nasty domestic violence suddenly grabbed three or four knives during a frightening confrontation and viciously slashed his terrified girlfriend on her neck.
Aggressive and fired-up Liam Bearfield brandished the knives at her and a child after angrily hurling horrendous abuse and threatening to petrol bomb the house if the police were alerted and he was arrested.
He had downed eight or nine pints of beer before becoming "extremely violent" and he was drunk when he lost his temper and started shouting insults, Hull Crown Court heard.
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Bearfield, 30, of Hedon, admitted making threats to kill, wounding the woman and two offences of threatening a person with a blade in a private place, on July 8.
Holly Thompson, prosecuting, said that Bearfield had been in a relationship with the woman for about a year at the time of the incidents. The relationship had previously been good.
Trouble started when Bearfield started yelling insults and abuse because he was annoyed about lights being left on. He shouted at the woman and the child, saying that he was going to smash their faces in.
He warned her that, if she called the police and he ended up getting arrested, he would petrol bomb the house. He kicked out at the woman's stomach three or four times and grabbed three or four knives from kitchen drawers.
Bearfield lashed out with them, twice causing knife wound injuries on her neck. He went towards the child and the woman tried to put herself in front to protect them.
Bearfield threatened to kill the child and tried to throw knives at them. The child managed to run out of the house. The woman later went to hospital for checks on the wounds.
She had been left with scars from the knife wounds to her neck. Bearfield later told police during interview that he had drunk eight or nine pints and that he was drunk. He had previous convictions for domestic violence.
The woman said in a statement that she tearfully read to the court: "I put my trust in Liam and he betrayed that and I do not feel I can trust anyone again.
"I have a false sense of security. I don't really want to leave my house. I feel very paranoid when I do. I feel judged by random strangers. The whole situation is very humiliating.
"I feel so angry all the time, finding out what he has done in the past and all the lies. I am shocked and embarrassed by it all. I feel so emotional. I feel like this is all my fault."
Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said: "It's appalling behaviour. The defendant knows that. He accepts that he falls to be punished. There is some real remorse and some real insight into his offending.
"These offences are all aggravated by the influence of alcohol. There is a real influence in the defendant's life that he knows he needs to address. He has to reflect on how he has made the complainant feel by this offending."
Judge John Thackray KC said that, while the woman was reading her statement in court, Bearfield could be seen "smirking" while he was on a video link screen from Hull Prison.
"This was an appalling incident," said Judge Thackray. "Your victims were your ex-partner and a child, who will undoubtedly struggle to come to terms with the effects of your offending for a long time to come.
"You became extremely violent. You escalated matters by grabbing three or four knives. You struck out with the knives, causing significant injuries to her facial areas and she was left with permanent scars.
"You made threats to kill and you continued to assault her by punches. You have not shown a jot of remorse. While your victim was reading her victim personal statement, it was clear that you seemed to find the whole episode amusing.
"She may never fully recover from your violence and threats. This could have been more serious, if it wasn't bad enough. It was a prolonged and persistent assault. There is some scarring."
Bearfield was jailed for four-and-a-half years. He was given a 10-year restraining order.