A night out in Warrington ended with two sisters being knocked out – one losing her two front teeth – after a row with a man turned to violence.
An experienced dentist described the fractures to her teeth as the worst he had ever seen.
Their attacker Julian Hamilton had agreed to give one of them, Lainey Wyatt, whom she knew from an online dating website, a lift home after she lost her two sisters while out drinking.
While waiting for Hamilton, whom she knew as Junior, her sisters rejoined her and when he arrived they all got in his car. But an argument began with Caitlin Wyatt after he set off about the messy state of the vehicle, including nappies lying around, and he told her to “f….ing get out.”
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Wednesday, that the young woman did but then kicked his car. “He told her not to do so and she did it again,” said Cecilia Pritchard, prosecuting.
“He jumped out of the car and punched Caitlin in the face causing her to fall to the floor apparently unconscious. She came to and got up and confronted him.”
She tried to get at him but their other sister restrained her. Hamilton hit Caitlin again and she again fell to the ground unconscious. The police were called and Lainey got out of the car and said to him, ‘you’ve punched my sister. What the f…’
“He pushed her and she pushed him back and she cannot remember what happened after that but remembers being on the floor covered in blood and feeling she could not get up.”
Hamilton drove off but the third sister photographed his car registration plate and she gave police the details.
Caitlin suffered a very swollen check, bruising around her eyes and grazing to her body. Lainey had a swollen face, bruising around her eyes and injuries to her two top teeth.
The next day she was x-rayed by a dentist who found the tooth fractures were so deep and severe they had to be removed. “He said they were the worst teeth fractures he had seen in over 33 years of practice.”
She has had to have extensive dental work including a dental plate and will need implants.
When interviewed Hamilton made no comment in his first interview and in the second one following an ID procedure he admitted being at the scene and claimed he had been acting in self-defence.
In an impact statement Lainey told how the injuries caused her trouble breathing and she lost money by being unable to go to work.
She stopped going out after dark and faced a £2,000 bill to fix her missing teeth. She had night terrors and panic attacks and said, “life came to a standstill with the assault and court case like a brick wall I cannot get past.”
Caitlin told how she had been unable to move her jaw properly for two weeks and her injuries stopped her leaving the house or taking her daughter to nursery.
She had been left afraid that she would see Hamilton again who might hurt them, she added.
Hamilton, of Rushwick Croft, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to two assault offences. He had been due to face trial last month but changed his plea shortly beforehand.
The court heard that he has other convictions but they post date the assaults which took place on February 12 last year. They include assaulting another woman and criminal damage.
Naomi Duckworth, defending, said that he has been working with probation as part of two community orders he has received since the offences.
She said the father-of-two had used excessive force but it had been a short-lived impulsive incident. He had suffered childhood trauma and now has weekly counselling.
“At the time he was going through difficult personal circumstances. He lost his job in teaching due to Covid and as a result, his mental health became poor.
“He was frustrated and struggling to cope. The victims made comments about the nappies which hit a nerve as he had just custody of his young daughter,” she said.
Judge Anil Murray said that the defendant had “thrown punches and hard ones at that.”
But he said he accepted there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and his partner and children would be affected if he was sent to jail.
He sentenced him to 10 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and 15 days rehabilitation activities.
Judge Murray also ordered him to pay £1,000 compensation to Lainey and £300 to Caitlin.
