Wife thought she was going to die when husband strangled her on holiday
A businessman who admitted strangling his wife on holiday in Thailand has been spared jail.
David Turner, 61, admitted causing actual bodily harm at Le Meridien Khao Lak Resort and Spa on July 4, 2024.
The assault was so terrifying that she thought she was going to die as he repeatedly kicked and punched her in a prolonged attack.
At one point she blacked out and when she woke up he was holding a knife which he threw at her, Hull Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Stephen Welch said the couple were on holiday with their son and Mr Turner’s father.
On the day of the attack, Mr Turner vanished after drinking cocktails and was later found throwing up in a bathroom.
His wife arrived to look after him and he accused her of going missing, despite her never having left the area.
He became violent, pushing her into some furniture and then strangling her while, in Mrs Turner’s words, ‘frothing at the mouth, shouting and screaming.’
He strangled her for a second time and hit her head on the bathroom floor, causing her to black out.
Mr Welch said: ‘She thought that she was going to die. Then he approached her with a knife. She screamed at him: “Stop it. What are you doing?” He threw the knife at her before accusing her incorrectly of having been gone two hours.
‘Their son came out of the bathroom and the defendant threatened to kill her in the presence of her son. She wanted to call the police but she didn’t have the local number.’
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The following morning, Mrs Turner and her son retrieved their passports and they left. Mr Turner was arrested when he returned to the UK.
Mrs Turner, who still suffers from panic attacks and nightmares, said: ‘Since the incident happened, I have noticed an immense effect. I became a recluse. I felt I could not even leave the house. I was terrified of seeing Dave.
‘It was only when I was granted a non-molestation order that I felt I could go out. My brother had to change the locks of the house because Dave had a key. I was scared he was in my room at night.
‘I would wake up in the middle of the night worried that he would come in and finish me off.’
Speaking on his behalf, Julia Baggs said he was extremely remorseful that it had ended their 30-year relationship.
He was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. He was also handed a 10-year restraining order and told to pay £2,000 in compensation.
Learn more about domestic abuse in the UK
- One in four women experience domestic abuse
- It takes an average of seven attempts for a woman to leave for good
- Police record a domestic abuse every 40 seconds.
- Less than 20% of women who experience partner abuse reported it to police
- 84% of domestic abuse victims are women – 93% of defendents are male
- Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse
Source: Refuge
