Middlesbrough man jailed for coercive control and domestic strangulation

MIDDLESBROUGH MAN JAILED FOR COERCIVE CONTROL AND DOMESTIC STRANGULATION

A controlling boyfriend, Lee McQuade, 39, has been convicted for his abusive behavior towards his former partner in a two-year relationship that was described as a hellish ordeal.

McQuade threatened to 'scar and disfigure' his ex's 'pretty little face' during a series of violent and threatening behaviors.

He strangled his partner four times between April 2023 and August 2024, following arguments and incidents related to everyday disputes and personal frustrations.

Some of the threatening messages he sent included: "I'm going to permanently scar and disfigure your pretty little face.

Sleep with one eye open," and "Watch me glass your face and pour acid in your eyes." He also demanded money, stating he would only leave her if she paid him £5,000, and made violent threats such as: "I'll make sure you don't see Christmas Day, never mind the next hour.

I'll do it in front of the kids." Details of his assaults were read out at Teesside Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to coercive control and four counts of intentional strangulation.

The court heard that McQuade followed his partner upstairs after an argument, squeezed her throat, and later grabbed her by the neck after a disagreement over food.

In July 2024, he strangled her because he didn't have any clean socks, and in August 2024, he strangled her for the fourth time.

He further threatened her life, saying he would kill her, and ultimately was sentenced to three years in prison, alongside an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting his ex-partner again.

The judge condemned his language as "appalling and demeaning," stating it "reduced his victim to nothing."