Newport man jailed after he tried to strangle, suffocate and choke woman in his bedroom

Mathew Russell, of Clearwell Court, Newport, left the young woman, who was a sex worker, fearing for her life when he attempted to strangle, suffocate and choke her in his bedroom.

The victim told Cardiff Crown Court on Friday that she feared she was going to be raped and killed, adding that she will have to live with the ordeal for the rest of her life.

Gareth James, prosecuting, said the woman drove to the home of Russell - who she had never met before - for a pre-arranged sexual encounter on November 19 of last year.

When she knocked on his door, Russell, aged 22, answered wearing just his boxer shorts and invited her to go to a bedroom where he gave her an envelope.

"The woman was looking in the envelope which contained tissues expecting money," said Mr James.

"By this point Russell was behind her and the victim said she saw a flash of blue.

"The defendant pulled a thick blue, coarse rope around her head and neck."

Russell was trying to pull the rope towards the woman's neck, while she was struggling to pull it away, the court heard.

"He then grabbed her hair and pushed her face down into the blankets, trying to smother her," Mr James added.

When Russell sexually touched the woman's private parts, she believed she was going to be raped, the court heard.

Russell then held a sharp object, believed to be a screwdriver, to the woman's face and said: "You scream and I will slit your throat."

The woman bit at Russell's fingers and struggled, which helped loosen the rope, allowing her to scream, the court was told.

"He looked at her and then ran out of the room," Mr James said.

"When he returned around 30 seconds later he told her to get out before he killed her or slitted her throat. He then removed the rope."

Reading a victim impact statement, the woman told the court: "When he started to strangle me I honestly thought I was going to die.

"My mother has already buried one daughter and I thought about her having to bury a second.

"I had to do something. I knew I had to fight him if I was going get out of there alive."

She added that it was only because of Russell's smaller build that she was able to fight him off.

The victim told the court her lower back and neck were in so much pain after the attack it felt like she had been run over.

She said she had struggled to tell her parents about the attack and her reasons for going to the house as a sex worker, and that she has suffered anxiety, panic attacks and nightmares since the attack and is unable to work, feeling as if her life has "just stopped."

When Russell was interviewed by police he said the incident felt like an out of body experience, the court heard.

"He described it as being like a dream in that he had no control and felt no emotion," said Mr James.

He admitted to assaulting and attempting to strangle the woman, and later pleaded guilty to two charges, of attempting to choke, strangle and suffocate with intent, and assault by penetration.

Caroline Rees, defending, said Russell had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

She said he was socially isolated and felt he had struggled with mental health issues, though doctors found no evidence of any mental illness.

Judge Eleri Rees said the attack was a "terrifying ordeal" which had had a significant impact on the emotional well-being of the victim.

"The victim feared she was going to be raped and that she might have been dying," said Judge Rees, sentencing.

"That perhaps explains how she found the strength to fight you off and scream."

She said aggravating features included that the attack was pre-planned and on a vulnerable woman who was meeting a stranger for a sexual service, adding that Russell had shown little empathy or remorse.

Judge Rees said the extreme nature of violence in the attack made her believe Russell was a dangerous offender. She passed an extended sentence of 13 years, nine of which he will serve in prison and four on license.