Bradford man left partner with life-threatening injuries

Martin Mitchell attacked the woman at her flat in Tyersal, Bradford, when he was ‘steaming drunk’ leaving her lying on a mattress covered in blood and what he himself described as ‘150 bruises.’ He delayed calling an ambulance for several hours and she was bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth on the way to Leeds General Infirmary.

Prosecutor Alisha Kaye told Bradford Crown Court today that the victim had sustained life-threatening injuries in the prolonged and persistent beating.

She had a dangerously low Glasgow Coma Scale reading of 9-11 in the ambulance and had suffered injuries including a fractured eye socket, broken nose, eight broken ribs, a punctured and collapsed lung, bruising to her liver and kidney damage.

She was put on a breathing tube and a ventilator in intensive care and needed a blood transfusion.

Miss Kaye said that when she woke in hospital, she didn’t know why she was in there and couldn’t recall what had happened to her. She thought she had been kidnapped.

Mitchell, 50, who was living at the flat before he was remanded into custody, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent on September 11.

His victim was in court to hear the case and to get a restraining order without limit of time banning him from contacting her.

In her victim personal statement, she said she was still on painkillers and had difficulty climbing the stairs. She had almost passed out on a visit to the shops.

“She says she trusted him with her life and he nearly took it away from her,” Miss Kaye stated.

The court heard that Mitchell trashed the flat that night as well as attacking her. He had been drinking vodka and fell over because he was ‘steaming drunk.’ His previous convictions included a common assault but nothing for violence on this scale.

Mitchell’s barrister, Abigail Langford, said that tragically the woman was ‘his world.’ He had to live with what he had done and would deal with the jail sentence.

He had shown genuine remorse and wanted to plead guilty from the outset.

Bradford Crown Court

Miss Langford said Mitchell couldn’t explain what happened. It was out of character for him after he had abstained from alcohol. He wondered if there was ‘something in his drink’ that night.

“The reality is that he brutally attacked someone he loved very deeply and he has to live with that,” Miss Langford said.

Mitchell knew that a prison sentence of more than seven years would be imposed that would mean he had to serve two-thirds of it behind bars.

He had already attained enhanced prisoner status while on remand in HMP Leeds. He had a job in the kitchen and was working towards getting a positive report from the Parole Board.

Judge Andrew Hatton said the circumstances of the offence were ‘far, far from clear.’ Mitchell was drunk and the woman was taken to hospital in a very serious state of injury.

He had inflicted gross violence upon her. When he eventually phoned for an ambulance he said she was ‘covered in 150 bruises’ and bleeding in and around the ear.

He told a pack of lies seeking to blame others and never gave a satisfactory explanation, thereby potentially hindering her urgent need for treatment.

In the ambulance she was bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth. She was put on a ventilator and was in intensive care where she was given kidney dialysis.

She was unlikely to ever recover physically, mentally or financially, Judge Hatton said.

Mitchell had delivered multiple significant blunt force blows to the woman over a prolonged period of time. He must have used a weapon, a foot or significant blows from the hand; or a combination of all of those.

It was at least three hours before he phoned for an ambulance and he was significantly under the influence of alcohol.

Mitchell was jailed for eight years and three months and will spend two-thirds of it locked up.

He was banned from having any contact with the woman until further order.