A man strangled, bit and threatened to kill his then girlfriend during a two-year “campaign of violence”. Marcus Hadley, from Rogerstone, made his former partner fear for her life when he attacked her in her home and held a knife to her throat.
The incident, which took place in July 2024, was the latest in a string of terrifying ordeals Hadley subjected the victim to after they met on a dating app in 2022. During a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Monday, January 6 Hadley’s victim said her life became a “living nightmare” during the relationship.
During the sentencing hearing, which followed an earlier trial, Judge Daniel Williams said 35-year-old Hadley’s violent, controlling and aggressive behaviour towards the victim started as far back as July 2022. Judge Williams said: “[You] dictated what she would wear, bombarded her with messages, [and] threatened to disclose personal details.
“In addition you were violent towards her and you would strangle her – the ultimate exercise of control.” Judge Williams outlined a number of examples where Hadley had strangled the victim and one in which he “repeatedly kicked” her.
In one particularly disturbing incident which took place in January 2023, he said Hadley became jealous and accused the victim of looking at another man while they visited a bar in Swindon. He explained how the pair went back to the hotel they had booked where Hadley “dirtied her clothes” and strangled her when she sought refuge in the bathroom.
The final straw came for the victim in July 2024 during an incident in which she feared Hadley would kill her. Judge Williams told the court: “At 8.30pm while the victim was in bed you turned up at her home following a funeral, very drunk.
“You were asked to leave, but you refused. As [the victim] lay on her bed upstairs you went upstairs, grabbed her by her hair, bit her face and produced a knife and you threatened to kill her.” During the same incident Judge Williams said Hadley held the knife against the victim’s throat.
Prosecuting, Rebecca Griffiths, read out a victim personal statement on behalf of the victim. During this Judge Williams told the court he observed Hadley “rolling his eyes”.
Ms Griffiths told the court on behalf of the victim: “You used and abused me to the point I no longer [trust] people or their intentions, I am suspicious of everyone. I barely go out anymore…You have changed me forever, I am not the person I was prior to meeting you.”
The victim went on to call her life a “living nightmare” during the relationship, adding: “I only tried to be there for you and you took advantage of my good nature. I am constantly looking over my shoulder.”
The victim said Hadley’s actions had caused her mental trauma including symptoms of PTSD and depression. Physically, she said she experiences numbness in her left cheek from Hadley’s bite, as well as pain in her neck, back and shoulders which has prevented her doing some daily tasks.
Defending Hadley, Hywel Davies, told the court that his client “struggled to accept the verdict of the jury”, after he was found guilty of threats to kill, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating and controlling or coercive behaviour.
Mr Davies said Hadley had removed drugs and alcohol from his life, while he is also abstaining from relationships while he works on his personal development. Sentencing Hadley, of The Uplands in Rogerstone, Judge Williams described the defendant’s actions as a “campaign of violence” against the victim.
He said the offending was “too serious” for anything but immediate custody. He sentenced Hadley to five years in prison for the lead offence of threats to kill, with the remaining sentences to run concurrently.
