A Carlisle man who punched, stamped on and choked a defenceless woman during a brutal attack in her city home has been jailed for almost a decade.
Detectives initially launched an attempted murder probe after the shocking assault, which occurred inside a Botchergate flat on the afternoon of August 20 last year.
Police received a 999 call, forced their way into the property and found Graeme Anthony Thompson, 37, heavily intoxicated, Carlisle Crown Court heard this afternoon.
Officers saw the partially clothed victim lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
“They could see that the female was bleeding from her face and there was visible swelling and deformities. She was seriously injured,” said prosecutor Robert Wyn Jones.
One paramedic described her injuries as the worst they had seen in almost 30 years of service. Thompson tried to flee, denied assaulting anyone when arrested and desperately sought to blame others for leaving the woman, in his words, “half-dead”.
His victim was airlifted to hospital in a life-threatening condition. A CT scan suggested a bleed on the brain, she had facial fractures and teeth were missing. She was “unrecognisable” and had no recollection of what happened but had since made a remarkable recovery.
A forensic pathologist concluded injuries to her head and body were consistent with being caused by punches, kicks and stamps. Neck damage may also have been caused by a “chokehold”.
Thompson, of Borrowdale Gardens, Carlisle, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He could not remember the attack but was full of “overwhelming remorse”, said his lawyer.
Judge Nicholas Barker, who heard of the defendant’s troubled upbringing, handed down a nine-and-a-half year jail term. Concluding Thompson was also a “dangerous” offender, he imposed an extended three-and-a-half-year licence period.
He will be considered for release only after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
“The scene that the paramedics and police came upon in that sitting room was appalling,” said Judge Barker. He told Thompson: “It is a significant sentence for you. It is a significant sentence because this was a cruel and dangerous offence on a defenceless woman.”
