Yahoo News Violent ex-soldier threw former wife into a window and slammed her head on pavement in horrific attack
An "enraged" ex-soldier with a long history of serious violence viciously strangled his former wife, threw her into a window with a "massive bang" and dragged her out of his house by her hair during a nasty and prolonged attack.
Part of the sadistic beating was seen by four horrified members of the public, who heard the woman screaming "Help me, help me" during her frightening ordeal, Hull Crown Court heard.
Daniel Argyle, 46, of Rosmead Street, off Holderness Road, east Hull, admitted intentional strangulation of the woman and assaulting her, causing actual bodily harm, on June 8.
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Benjamin Donnell, prosecuting, said that Argyle and the woman were married for a number of years but their relationship broke up in about April this year because he was unfaithful to her.
The former couple later arranged to meet up. Alcohol was drunk and they discussed the prospect of a divorce.
She asked him why he had the affair with the other woman. He became enraged and threw a table at her. "He strangled her with both hands, with such force that she could not breathe," said Mr Donnell. "She thinks that she may have passed out."
Argyle dragged the woman onto the floor by her legs. The rest of the assault was seen by four passers-by, who happened to see it because the front door of the house was open.
"They described how they heard a woman screaming 'Help me, help me'," said Mr Donnell. The witnesses looked inside the house and saw Argyle with one arm leaning on a mantelpiece while standing with his foot on the woman's neck. "She was on the floor screaming for help," said Mr Donnell.
The passers-by heard a massive bang caused by Argyle throwing the woman into a front window with such force that it rattled in its glass frame. He dragged her out of the house by her hair and the four members of the public saw him slam her head forcefully down on the pavement, with such force that her head bounced off the pavement and her clothes were torn and fell down.
The police were alerted by the members of the public and officers arrived at the scene. The woman was taken to hospital, where she had a CT scan. There were no obvious problems with her head or neck. A clump of her hair had come out and she had bad bruises and scrape marks from where Argyle had dragged her along.
Argyle had convictions for 18 previous offences, most of them involving assaults. An assault in August 2018 was against the same woman. During that incident, he punched her in the face because she found out that he had been sending messages to another woman.
Argyle had been jailed in January 2021 for two years and one month for offences of inflicting grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm, committed in March 2018.
Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said that the relationship with the woman was toxic but Argyle now accepted that it was over. He pleaded guilty to the latest offence of assault causing actual bodily harm at an earlier stage but he originally denied the strangulation offence.
He changed his plea to guilty on the day of a scheduled trial and made admissions. There were gaps in Argyle's criminal record and times when he had lived a law-abiding lifestyle. He had previously served in the armed forces as a soldier and he had been part of a peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
Argyle, who had been in custody on remand, was jailed for three years. He was given a 10-year restraining order.
The previous offences of inflicting grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm, for which Argyle was jailed for two years and one month in January 2021, happened when he punched and stamped on a man in front of the victim's 14-year-old daughter.
Argyle answered the door and tempers frayed during a confrontation with others, including two sisters, their father and the boyfriend of the elder sister. They had gone to Argyle's house after earlier family problems involving their mother, who was Argyle's then partner. Abusive text messages had been exchanged with Argyle.
During the confrontation, Argyle repeatedly punched the boyfriend of the elder sister, including in the face, the court heard.
The girl's father got out of a car and Argyle punched him in the head, causing him to crash to the ground. A friend of Argyle joined in the confrontation and the two of them launched a vicious attack on the father.
The second man straddled the father, who ended up on the ground, and punched him to the face six or seven times. Argyle kicked and stamped on his head about three times. The victim suffered a fractured eye socket, the court heard.
