ESSEX MAN ATTACKED WOMAN IN FRONT OF HER YOUNG DAUGHTER
A MAN has walked free on a suspended sentence after attacking a woman in front of her daughter, who dialled 999 to ask police to save her mum.The young girl called police after watching Aaron Witchell punch her mother in the face and then push her down the stairs.
Witchell, 40, of Retreat Way, Chigwell, was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Monday (January 5) after pleading guilty to two counts of assault by beating, two counts of criminal damage and one count of possessing a knife in a public place.
On January 12, 2025, Witchell flew into a rage because his girlfriend had ordered an Indian takeaway.
The court heard he lost his temper, threw her to the floor and stamped repeatedly on her foot.
On January 29, he became enraged because his partner had commented on a video on TikTok.
He hit her in the face, causing an injury to her lip.
The incident was reported to police whilst still ongoing by the woman’s daughter, who described seeing Witchell push her mother down the stairs, leaving her in tears.
The mother and daughter then hid in a room while they waited for officers to arrive.
When they did, the woman told police Witchell had also struck several blows to her side.
Months later, on May 17, the woman got in her car after an argument and Witchell followed her, pulling out a knife.
When she repeatedly told him she wasn’t going back indoors with him, he used the knife to stab her tyres.
He later claimed he had done it because he feared she was going to drink-drive and would have repaired them in the morning.
“I’m taking all that slightly with a pinch of salt, but I appreciate that’s what his explanation is,” said Judge Siew Loke.
The victim attended court to support Witchell, saying she no longer supported the prosecution and wished to resume their relationship.
Judge Loke said she considered the offences aggravated by the fact that the woman had been attacked within her own home, where she should have been safe, and one of the attacks was witnessed by her young daughter, who was “plainly distressed and scared”.
She sentenced to 19 months, suspended for 18 months.
