A senior social worker from Warrington, who believed his wife had cheated on him, repeatedly assaulted her and threatened to kill their children in front of her.
Furious James Quinn made the horrifying threats after his frightened victim said she would call the police about his violence , a court heard yesterday, Monday.
He told her it would take 20 minutes for the police to arrive at their Warrington home. “I’ll kill you by then. I’m going to torture you, I’ll bring the children down and slit their throats in front of you and kill myself.”
Some of his violence was witnessed by their children and jailing Quinn, who was a senior manager in social care for Salford Council, a judge told him, “You are aware, perhaps more that others, of the damage done to young children witnessing domestic violence, not to mention the abject terror they rightly feel.
“Home was the space where they should have felt safe and you were the person they should have felt safe with. The psychological harm cannot be under-estimated,” said Judge Charlotte Crangle.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that as well as assaulting his partner the defendant also took out his fury on her belongings including damaging a Louis Vuitton handbag and a Lululemon coat, worth almost £2,000.
Jailing him for two-and-half years Judge Crangle said, “Late November you uncovered what you thought was evidence that your wife, who you had been with for ten years and is the mother of your children, was having an affair.
“As you said in your pre-sentence report the red mist descended and your world came crashing down. Your reaction was disproportionate and you gave little thought to your little girls asleep.”
She said that 37-year-old Quinn began shouting and pushed her head against the floor on a number of times while she was trying to get her mobile phone back to summon help “because she was petrified of your behaviour.
“You pushed her to the floor again and kicked her to the side, bruising her leg. She tried to calm you down and talk things over but it did not last long before you went into a rage again, struggling when she tried to get her phone back.”
She ended up on the floor again and he only stopped the assault when a delivery driver called at the house. “But it did not cause you to come to your senses,” said the judge.
Quinn threatened to throw her phone into a neighbour’s garden and pushed her to the floor and squeezed her throat to such an extent she could not breathe for 30 seconds and two days later it was still hurting her to swallow.
He stamped on her hand injuring two fingers, initially suspected to be fractured and it was only six weeks later that it was found that she had suffered a broken wrist. She had to flee for her own safety leaving her two children asleep in bed.
She returned the next day hoping he would have calmed down but he had been “stewing” about it in the meantime and he made abusive remarks and kicked her between the legs which upset their children.
After she put them to bed he made his chilling comments about killing them all and talked about barricading the front door. He tried to grab her phone and squeezed her hand, causing bruising, and punched her.
She got in bed with her eldest daughter for safety and realised he had damaged some of her jewellery. He ordered her to clear up the mess he had made and the next day she fled to her mum’s with the children on the pretext she was taking them to school and nursery.
Judge Crangle told Quinn, “You have lost the career you worked so hard to establish, lost your home and relationship.”
She added that it was to be hoped the children are not scarred or damaged by what they witnessed and he can re-establish a relationship with them in due course. She imposed a five year restraining order on him.
Quinn, formerly of Langden Close, Culcheth, pleaded guilty to strangulation, two assaults and criminal damage on November 26 and 27 last year.
Callum Ross, defending, said the defendant accepted he could have no complaint if he was immediately jailed. But he urged the judge to suspend the sentence pointing out the defendant had entered early guilty pleas and has been on bail in Cardiff for three months without any problems.
He asked the judge to put his two days of “abhorrent behaviour” in the context of the rest of his life and said that he was remorseful.
He has lost his job with Salford Council but is planning to start an electrical course in September to boost his employment prospects and wants to provide financially for his children.
“He accepts his relationship is finished,” he added.
