Liam Labourne, 34, slapped, punched and suffocated his terrified girlfriend after he found a text message on her phone he didn’t like, a court heard
Liam Labourne was handed a three-year sentence at Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A terrified woman was forced to grab a knife and flee after her violent and controlling boyfriend tried to go through her phone.
Liam Labourne slapped, punched and suffocated his girlfriend after finding a message on her mobile phone from a man wishing her “Happy Birthday”.
Labourne, 34, of Dulverton Close, Bransholme, Hull, regularly hit and intimidated the woman, including when he obsessively went through her phone and found pictures and messages he did not like, a court heard.
Labourne admitted using controlling and coercive behaviour in Scunthorpe between January 1 and August 4, 2024. He pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial at Hull Crown Court. Other charges were dropped, Grimsby Live reports.
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Ben Weeks, prosecuting, said Labourne and the woman, 26, started a relationship at the end of August 2023. Her sister noticed a change in her and in early 2024 she contacted the police who then made a welfare check.
This was “the start of things going wrong” and Labourne hit her for the first time, telling her: “Your family are all snitches.” Things got much worse after this and Labourne hit her, damaged her home and smashed mobile phones and other items.
“He would verbally abuse her, calling her names,” said Mr Weeks. The woman felt she could not go out without Labourne and he wanted to escort her everywhere.
“Any time that she was without him, he would call and text her continually, calling her friends and her family to find out her whereabouts,” said Mr Weeks. Labourne accessed and went through her phone routinely and sent himself screenshots of pictures.
“He would assault her if he was unhappy with what he found,” said Mr Weeks. He slapped his girlfriend on July 14, 2024 after he grabbed her mobile phone and she challenged him.
On July 29, 2024, Labourne looked at her phone and discovered another male had wished her “Happy Birthday” in a message. He slapped her in the face, punched her in the ribs and suffocated her by pushing her head into her bed.
“When she refused to allow him to go through her phone, he smashed it on a table,” said Mr Weeks. “She was so terrified that she fled, taking a knife with her for protection.
“She cowered behind bins in her underwear to hide from him. She waited until he left before re-entering and barricading herself in as he kicked at her door and climbed up to her bathroom window, shouting that he wanted his jacket.
“Eventually, he left. Following this, she received a number of calls from an unknown number that she believed to be him.”
On August 4, 2024, she was heading to the shops in Scunthorpe at about 8am when Labourne approached and got into her car while holding a baseball bat. “He was shouting at her and he told her to drive somewhere for a chat,” said Mr Weeks. “She felt frightened. As they drove, he punched her to her arm. He continued with the verbal abuse.”
The pair were later approached by the woman’s ex-boyfriend at a Scunthorpe supermarket and there was an argument between the two men. The police were called to the scene.
The woman was now a “shell of herself” and felt “scarred for life”. She had trust issues and felt worthless and stressed.
Labourne had convictions for eight previous offences. These included assault, involving punching a girlfriend’s arm in October 2013, as well as criminal damage in April 2010 and January 2016.
The first incident involved him threatening a former girlfriend with a hammer and damaging her vehicle with it. The second involved him throwing and damaging a coffee table and a mobile phone. He also had offences of breaching a non-molestation order in March 2010 and April 2016.
Nadim Bashir, mitigating, said that Labourne pleaded guilty, avoiding the need for the woman to relive her experiences at a trial. Labourne had previously spent time in custody on remand before being allowed bail. He was now in a new relationship and he and his girlfriend had a child aged about two months. He had been working.
Labourne, who had been on bail, was jailed for three years. He was given a seven-year restraining order and will have to pay a £228 victims’ surcharge.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.
