A JEALOUS man grabbed his ex by the throat and threatened to gut her with a knife after finding a dating app on her phone.
Jamie Halley told his former partner, Chelsea Donovan, he was going to kill her whilst threatening her with a knife during a struggle.
A court heard how the pair had split a week before, but after a day drinking, Halley had asked if he could go round to his ex’s home in Southampton.
She agreed, but the meeting became violent after he saw her phone, causing him to get up and grab a knife from the kitchen.
Prosecuting, Simon Walters told the court how he grabbed a knife from the draw, before telling Chelsea he was going to kill her and charging at her.
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The 32-year-old held her down by her throat, threatening to peal her skin and swearing at her, at one point even using racial slurs towards her.
During the ordeal, he asked her if she had any last words and motioned to her that he would “slice her up”.
But after kicking her attacker in the stomach, Chelsea managed to grab the knife and get away, throwing the weapon into a nearby garden.
She then proceeded to knock on neighbours’ doors in search of help with the police being called soon after.
The knife was retrieved by officers with Chelsea’s phone later being found in Halley’s home.
Halley later pleaded guilty on the day of trial to making threats to kill and strangling his ex.
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Mr Walters added that his behaviour caused “very serious distress and significant psychological harm” to the victim.
In a statement read out in court, Chelsea Donovan said she suffered a swollen left thumb, a scratch to her forehead and a sore neck after the incident.
“I did not stay at my house for four months as I was afraid to stay there on my own.
“I would often have those flashbacks and still do.
“I used to love cooking. [But now] I don’t like the look of big knives and I will not have them in the house.
“I will be lucky if I go one night a week without a night terror. I don’t leave the house unless I’m with someone.
“My home should be a place of safety and comfort, but he has ruined this with his actions.”
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Mitigating, Berenice Mulvanny said her client was “fully aware of the inevitable custodial sentence” adding that “this has been an incident that Mr Halley has struggled to accept.”
She said he witnessed domestic violence as a child and is “now disgusted and appalled with himself that he is in front of the courts for a domestic context”.
Halley, who suffers with ADHD, PTSD, Psychosis, Anxiety, Depression, Autism and Insomnia, appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday.
He was jailed for four years, eight months with an extended licence period of 5 years.
An order was also made for forfeiture and destruction of the knife with Halley made the subject of a restraining order for the next 10 years.
The judge, Peter Henry added that Halley is a “very serious risk of imposing serious damage” and that this has had a “serious effect” on the victim.
Halley, of Cuckmere Lane, Southampton has 13 previous convictions for 19 offences including wounding with intent after an incident with a knife in 2012.
He was later sentenced to five years imprisonment for this offence.
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