An alcoholic who punched and tried to suffocate his ex partner in a drunken rage then prevented her from escaping to get help.

Donald Jason Benny appeared before Truro Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, having pleaded guilty three days earlier to assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and intentional suffocation.

Prosecutor Tom Bradnock told the court that 46-year-old Benny committed the offences against his former partner in an incident that spanned three days.

Although the relationship had ended two years ago, she still allowed Benny, who is of no fixed abode, to stay at her home at Penryn occasionally.

Issues began during the evening of Saturday, January 28 this year, when Benny was described as being drunk and an argument broke out in the bedroom about his drinking.

He accused the woman of sleeping with other people and she told him she didn’t want him there.

Mr Bradnock said that in response Benny “put his hands over her mouth and nose and attempted to stop her breathing. For a short while he was successful.”

He continued that Benny then punched her to the head, shut her in the bedroom for a time and then followed her from room to room.

When she told him to stop, he punched her again – in total punching her more than ten times, causing her face to swell and bruise.

He also bent all her fingers back on her hand and it was suggested that he used weapon at one stage, which she thought was a bottle.

At one point the woman tried to go into the courtyard between her house and another, and she shouted for help, before Benny dragged her back inside.

This was witnessed by a neighbour on one of the occasions, at around 10am the following morning, who saw Benny putting the woman into a bear hug and moving her back inside the house, closing the door.

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It was not until the Monday morning that the woman was finally able to grab what she could and run to her car, from where she called the police.

“She had bruising and swelling to face that was so severe she was struggling to talk and she was visibly frightened,” said Mr Bradnock, who said the woman was taken to hospital for treatment.

The court was told that Benny had previous convictions for ABH and GBH in the 1990s, and in July 2022 he was guilty of being drunk and disorderly, which resulted in a six-month suspended sentence that had only just expired at the time of these offences.

Speaking on behalf of Benny, Robin Smith said: “This man has struggled with addiction – all kinds of drugs and alcohol over the years. He’s not using it as any kind of excuse, but as an explanation.

“It was a relationship always fraught with tension, which Mr Benny was wanting to bring to an end, but he is utterly aghast at the way he went about that.

“His express remorse is genuine. He’s promised that whilst he’s in prison he’s determined to tackle his addiction problems.”

Sentencing Benny, Recorder Mathew Turner described it as a “prolonged and persistent assault,” in which Benny had taken steps to prevent his victim from getting help, although he accepted the defendant was “genuinely remorseful” over his actions.

He sentenced Benny to a total of 21 months in prison. He must serve half in prison before being released to serve the remainder in the community, and be under a one-year supervision order post sentence.

A five-year restraining order was put in place preventing Benny from making any contact with his victim.