Girlfriend-beater’s chilling threat

A MAN punched, bit and threatened to kill his girl friend with a knife following a New Year’s Eve drinking binge, a court has heard.

Prosecutor Miss Jinny Sehra told magistrates yesterday how Antony Warburton (30), of Lees Road, attacked the woman he had been seeing for only three weeks following an argument.

Oldham Magistrates Court heard how he had called her “a slag” and accused her of seeing other people before subjecting her to a horrific ordeal that she tried desperately to escape.

The pair had been drinking at a party before walking to the woman’s home at around 1am.

In a victim statement the woman said she had began to scream when he pushed her in the chest once in the house, after which he slapped her across the face before dropping down on one knee to apologise.

The prosecution explained how he then bit her on the cheek as she cowered in a corner, spat at her face and shouted: “You’re dead, I’m going to kill you”.

According to the victim he then held a kitchen knife an inch away from her face and said he would kill her should she call the police.

Magistrates heard that he then slipped allowing her to escape and call the police, but then punched her in the face and battered down the bathroom door when she locked herself in.

Defence solicitor Sonya O’Brien said Warburton had become jealous as she had been texting an ex partner and he had bitten her on the cheek to “shock her”.

However he denied threatening and punching her. He pleaded guilty to criminal damage and assault by beating.

In a statement the victim said: “He was so scary, I don’t doubt he would assault me again if he had the chance. I genuinely believed he was going to kill me.”

Magistrates sentenced Warburton to a 30-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He will also have to undertake 100 hours unpaid work, be supervised for 18 months and pay compensation and costs of £185.

He was also slapped with a restraining order not to contact in anyway his former girlfriend and will have to complete the Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme.