'I'll do jail time for this': Man strangled wife with dressing gown cord

A man who strangled his wife with the cord from his dressing gown after he had drunk two bottles of wine has been jailed.

Andrew Simson, 52, was at home with his wife in a flat they shared in South Wales on 13 November 2021.

This was only five days after a community order had expired that prohibited him from contacting his wife - something which was put in place due to a previous assault.

After the order came to end the married couple, who met 17 years ago, began living together again.

On the day of the assault, he stole and drank two bottles of wine before returning home drunk to his wife who was annoyed with him due to previous bad experiences with alcohol.

He went into the bedroom to change into a dressing gown and then returned to the living room where his wife, who had previously suffered a stroke, was sitting on the sofa.

He then said to his wife: “I’m going to do jail time for this” and proceeded to take off the cord of his dressing gown and put it around her neck before pulling on it tightly.

Prosecutor Rachel Knight told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday that Simson “pulled and pulled until she lost consciousness” and that she believed he was going to break her neck.

Knight added: “She was unable to defend herself. He also threw hot tea over her. She said she was dying but he said she was not dying. She was frightened and distraught.”

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The court heard how at a certain point Simson stopped the attack because he “came to his senses” and at around 5.45pm his wife was able to stagger out of the flat and alert a neighbour.

The police were called and when officers arrived at the scene they found Simson standing outside the flat where he admitted what he had done.

Footage captured by police played in court showed a clearly intoxicated Simson being questioned by police.

When pushed to clarify or repeat a previous comment made to them he said: "I tried to strangle my wife to death."

At that point he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and taken into custody.

Knight read out a victim impact statement from Simson's wife at the court in which she said she suffers from anxiety and is “mentally bereft” following the incident.

She also detailed how her and her husband “had a good marriage” where he “put up with my cooking and I put up with his snoring”.

The statement read: “Andrew needs help, he needs support. He is a sweetheart who has a problem with alcohol. He gave me the best years of my life.”

In mitigation, Jeffrey Jones on behalf of Simson said alcohol was the cause of most of the negative events in his life and he was genuinely remorseful to the court and to his wife.

Simson had previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and Judge Richard Twomlow told him in court that he attacked a “disabled and vulnerable” person who was unable to defend herself.

Simson was sentenced to a 10-year sentence comprising five years and eight months in prison with a further four years and four months on licence.