A jealous brute who dragged his girlfriend back home by her hair and then threated to kill her at knifepoint after he spotted her chatting to an ex-boyfriend in their local pub was jailed for two years.
Ashley Barker, 33, chased after Bethany Evans after she jumped out of a taxi – then pushed her over a wall before grabbing her blonde hair and smashing her head against the pavement.
As the victim pleaded for him to stop, Barker kept hold of her locks and dragged her back to his home he shares with his mother.
Once inside he throttled her until she could barely breathe and held a kitchen knife to her throat saying: ‘I’m going to kill you.’
Ashley Barker (pictured), 33, chased after Bethany Evans after she jumped out of a taxi – then pushed her over a wall before grabbing her blonde hair and smashing her head against the pavement
As the victim Ms Evans (pictured) pleaded for him to stop, Barker kept hold of her locks and dragged her back to his home he shares with his mother
Barker eventually fled the property in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester after his mother intervened and called police.
Inquiries revealed he had previously beaten Miss Evans and then made her cover up her bruises with makeup under the threat of being assaulted again.
In a statement Miss Evans who works at Tameside Hospital said she had lost her confidence due to her relationship with Barker and added: ‘I was left feeling as if I was living in a constant nightmare.’
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, the former builder was branded a risk to the public by a judge as he was jailed for two years after he admitted a charge of coercive and controlling behaviour.
The court heard the pair had begun dating in December 2021 but Barker started to become abusive the following March.
Adam White prosecuting said: ‘She says he would become abusive towards her whenever she spoke to other men and call her a “sl**”.
Once inside he throttled her until she could barely breathe and held a kitchen knife to her throat saying: ‘I’m going to kill you’
Barker eventually fled the property in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester after his mother intervened and called police. Inquiries revealed he had previously beaten Miss Evans and then made her cover up her bruises with makeup under the threat of being assaulted again
‘She stopped posting photos of herself on social media as it would cause arguments when other men liked or commented on them.
‘The first incident of violence she recalls occurred at his mother’s address after he had been on a night out.
‘He asked her to pass him an e-cigarette and she said no, prompting him to grab her by the throat.
‘She kicked him and his mother came to remove him from the room. This prompted him to start headbutting the door and hitting himself in the face.
‘The second incident when Miss Evans had been on a night out, and the Defendant had seen her with another male.
‘When she returned to his mother’s address, he again grabbed her by the throat, pinning her down on top of the cooker.
‘The next incident was towards the end of May. He had again been out drinking, and Miss Evans was in bed at his mother’s address.
He came upstairs and she asked to be left alone, at which point he hit her in the face, causing a black eye and some swelling around the top of her nose.
‘After this incident the defendant insisted on Miss Evans using makeup to cover up the marks he had caused, and he would get angry with her if she did not do so,’ the prosecutor said.
‘She recalls an occasion where a relative asked about the bruising to her eye, and she felt compelled to invent a story about how she had dropped her phone on her face.
‘Towards the end of May, they had another argument and Miss Evans went out without him. Whilst she was out, she spoke to him on the phone and told him she had had enough.
‘He rang her back and demanded to know where she was, telling her that if she did not tell him then he would blow up her family’s houses.
‘She caved in and ordered him a taxi to the pub she was in, but he left again shortly after arriving because he was unhappy about some other men being there.
‘She eventually ended up meeting him back at his mother’s house again, where he had continued drinking by himself.
‘When she arrived, he made clear he was unhappy about how long it had taken her to get back and said she had “taken the piss out of him”.
In a statement Miss Evans who works at Tameside Hospital said she had lost her confidence due to her relationship with Barker and added: ‘I was left feeling as if I was living in a constant nightmare’
Prosecutor Adam White said: ‘Towards the end of May, they had another argument and Miss Evans went out without him. She eventually ended up meeting him back at his mother’s house again, where he had continued drinking by himself. Yet again, he grabbed her by the neck again and threw her onto the couch before starting to apologise’
‘Yet again, he grabbed her by the neck again and threw her onto the couch before starting to apologise.
‘The last incident occurred in June when they met up at a pub. They got a taxi but when they got in it, he started complaining about the fact she had been speaking to her ex-boyfriend.
‘She asked the driver to pull over, got out, and went and sat on a wall. But he came over to her and pushed her off the wall, grabbed hold of her and hit her head on the floor, busting her lip and causing a cut to her nose.
‘She got back up and he took her phone off her and insisted she had to come back to his mother’s house with him.
‘She said she did not want to go with him, and he grabbed her by the hair and started pulling her.
‘They eventually got back to the house and when she asked for her phone again, he again grabbed her by the neck and pinned her down.
‘His mother has then intervened and tried to pull him off her, but he again grabbed hold of her hair and dragged her to the floor where he started kicking her in her sides.
‘Unlike the other times he had strangled her, on this occasion she says she was struggling to breathe, and she thought that he was going to kill her.
‘He then went to the kitchen and retrieved a knife. She attempted to leave, and he grabbed her by the hair again, pinning her to the stairs with the knife to her throat, and told her he was going to kill her.
‘This prompted his mother to call the police and he then left the address, returning briefly to apologise to her through the letterbox.
‘Miss Evans went to a friend’s address, and he made a phone call during which he called her a “c***” said he was going to kill her, and that he would “f*** her up”.
The prosecutor continued: ‘The last incident occurred in June when they met up at a pub. They got a taxi but when they got in it, he started complaining about the fact she had been speaking to her ex-boyfriend. She asked the driver to pull over, got out, and went and sat on a wall. But he came over to her and pushed her off the wall, grabbed hold of her and hit her head on the floor, busting her lip and causing a cut to her nose’
Barker later answered no comment when interviewed by police. He had 12 previous offences on his record including a battery conviction 2005. He was sentenced to two years in jail due to his ‘risk to the public’ and ‘lack of strong mitigation’
Barker later answered no comment when interviewed by police.
He had 12 previous offences on his record including a battery conviction 2005.
In mitigation, defence counsel David Morton said: ‘He has expressed his sincere remorse and sadness over the incidents and wishes to give his best wishes to the complainant for the future.
‘This is truly the end of the relationship, a line has been drawn.’
Mr Morton added: ‘He has a good history of employment, previously working with his father in the building trade and he also previously worked at a factory in Oldham for six years.
‘He is a grafter in the best possible sense however, he becomes a different creature with alcohol. It is clearly his demon. He has no desire to hurt people.’
Barker was also banned from contacting Miss Evans for ten years under the terms of a restraining order.
Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones told him: ‘It is clear that your offending during this relationship had a serious effect on her. She has been living in a constant nightmare.
‘You do present a very clear risk to the public and you lack strong mitigation. Therefore, I believe only immediate custody is appropriate.’
DailyMail
