Blackpool man Michael Innes jailed for strangling and biting girlfriend in Snapchat video
Social media caught drunken boyfriend Michael Innes in the act as he tried to throttle his partner, a court heard.
A friend of the victim 140 miles away in Nottingham saw the 31-year-old on a Snapchat video call in Blackpool with his hands around the woman’s throat.
A 999 call to Nottinghamshire Police was diverted to Lancashire and officers raced round to a flat in the resort to arrest him.
Innes, of Knowle Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm. Despite her injuries the woman he attacked urged a judge in Preston not to send him to prison.
But Recorder Michael Blakey refused her request and jailed him for a total of 14 months after deciding he had made two attempts at strangulation and had also used his teeth “as a weapon” to bite her on the arm, drawing blood.
Prosecution barrister Rachel Oakdene said the woman had been talking on Snapchat to a friend when the assault happened.
She had been out drinking in Blackpool with Innes and he had got so drunk she called an ambulance. But paramedics did not arrive so the couple went back to her flat nearby.
The woman tried to call him a cab but he burst into her bedroom and began punching her multiple times to the face. He then got on top of her and put his hands around her throat, squeezing so hard she was struggling to breathe.
He pinched her face while screaming at her and then pinned her up against a wall where he once again put his hands around her neck and squeezed, restricting her breathing again. He bit her so hard on the arm that he caused it to bleed.
Her friend on Snapchat who watched the attack unfold called 999 thinking she was at serious risk.
Footage from the assault, downloaded from social media, was shown in court, with the woman clearly distressed as he had his hands around her throat. She could be heard shouting “get off me” and also telling her friend “I can’t get back to my phone”.
She screamed for help and neighbours then intervened to make sure she was safe until police arrived. The court heard she had suffered bruising and swelling on the face and head. She was also bleeding from the bite wound.
The court was told Innes had attacked the same woman three months earlier and was in breach of a conditional discharge issued at that time.
Recorder Blakey heard that despite the two assaults the victim had declined to make a victim impact statement to the court and did not want a restraining order against him.
Lawyer Anthony Parkinson, for Innes, said his client had expressed remorse for his actions that day. “He ought to be, and is, utterly ashamed as to the conduct he showed on this occasion.”
He said the woman “doesn’t want him to go the prison or be the subject of any restraining order”.
Innes was trying to get help for his drinking and his “inability to control himself when under the influence of alcohol”.
Recorder Blakey told him: “You can’t behave like you did. Drink is no excuse. I have no doubt at all (that) putting your hands around her neck restricting her breathing was an extremely frightening experienced.
“You did that not once, but twice. You also used your teeth as a weapon to bite her and cause an injury. That behaviour cannot be tolerated.”
The judge added that sending him to prison ought to act as a deterrent for others.
He sentenced Innes to 14 months for intentional strangulation and 12 months for assault, both to run concurrently, meaning a total of 14 months.