The North East criminals who unleashed shocking violence on their victims

The courts across the North East regularly deal with some of the most shameless offenders in the region.

Whether it be domestic abusers, drunken thugs, or even murderers, there have already been many remorseless criminals who have received sentences in 2025. Recently, prison sentences have been handed out to a Sunderland man who attacked his girlfriend, a killer who carried out a horrific murder, and a duo who attacked an innocent man for no reason.

These are the offenders who unleashed shocking violence on their victims:

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Liam Dugdale

Liam Dugdale, from Sunderland, choked, kicked, stamped on and spat at his partner during a "terrifying episode". Dugdale had gone out in Durham for the night last August while his girlfriend was out in Sunderland with her friends. Newcastle Crown Court heard during the evening, Dugdale called the woman and accused her of cheating and made similar claims when she got home.

When the victim asked Dugdale why he had waited for her to return, he replied "so I can do this" and punched her in the face. The woman was then dragged around, pushed, stamped on, spat at and kicked.

The court heard at one point during the violence, the victim locked herself in the bathroom and Dugdale used a knife to stab at the door until he created a hole. He also put his hand to her neck, pushed her against a wall and stared at her as if his "mind was gone".

The victim, who was left with bruises, cuts, bumps and swellings, said she feared for her life during the violence and was "devastated" by what happened. Recorder Ian Mullarkey sentenced Dugdale to two years and three months behind bars with a five year restraining order and said it was a "terrifying episode".

Leon and Lewis Bayat

Teen twins, Leon and Lewis Bayat, both 19-years-old, gouged a police officer's eye when called to deal with a commotion after they were kicked out of a hotel. The duo had been ejected from one Travelodge due to their behaviour and cheekily tried to check into another one nearby. When told they were not welcome, they became aggressive, resulting in staff phoning the police.

As an officer tried to arrest Leon, he poked him in the eye, causing him to fear it would be gouged out. It took the intervention of two members of the public to bring the situation under control. The pair were both sentenced to 12 month community orders, partly due to the fact they had served time in prison on remand.

Ben Hughes

Killer Ben Hughes stabbed and slashed a mother 27 times and told her "you're going to die" as she screamed for help. Laura Robson had only properly met Ben Hughes the day before her death and they got on well and it appeared they were at the beginning of a relationship. But on her second night at his flat in Gateshead, he murdered her for no apparent reason.

Hughes' upstairs neighbour heard the horrifying sounds of Laura being murdered and begging for help and savage Hughes' callous reply as her life ebbed away. Hughes was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of at least 17-and-a-half years.

Dean Graham and Armindo Silva

Drunken thugs, Dean Graham and Armindo Silva had been drinking and taking drugs when they attacked a man in Byker leaving him bruised and distressed. The pair pounced on and attacked the man for no reason as he made his way home in a terrifying episode of "mindless violence".

It was shortly before midnight on May 7 last year that the victim was walking home in Byker, Newcastle, having collected something to eat from a takeaway. Graham and Armindo Silva were loitering in the area and Silva approached the victim and asked who he was and where he was going, before Graham joined them.

Both defendants gave chase to the victim and Graham jumped on to his back, causing both to fall to the ground. The victim got up and tried to continue to run away. He was taken to the ground by Silva, who punched and kicked him to the head while on the floor and choked him.

The victim suffered bruising to his face, back, elbow and knees and attended at the RVI. He said he was left feeling shaken up, distressed and vulnerable afterwards. The court heard both men have previous convictions and Graham was jailed for a total of 32 months while Silva got 29 months.

Dean Ellis

Savage thug Dean Ellis bit off the top of a man's ear then "added insult to injury" by throwing it at him. Ellis was on bail awaiting sentence for another offence when he clashed with the victim and ended up sinking his teeth into his ear. In horrific scenes caught on CCTV, the piece of severed ear was left lying on the floor and Ellis then picked it up and threw it at the victim.

Medics were unable to reattach it and the man has been left permanently disfigured. Newcastle Crown Court heard the attack happened on April 15 2023, when Ellis and the victim were both living in supported accommodation in Blyth.

Ellis pleaded guilty to wounding and was sentenced to 23 months suspended for two years with a community order and he has to pay £500 compensation to the victim. He must also complete the 166 hours of unpaid work which are outstanding from his previous sentence.