RYAN MCCARTHY, 41, JAILED FOR BRUTAL DOMESTIC ABUSE AND STRANGULATION
A manipulative and controlling man strangled his partner after she suffered a miscarriage and poured a bottle of Coca Cola over her after she regained consciousness.Following the birth of their daughter he repeatedly assaulted his partner and forcibly tried to remove the baby from her mother's car.
Ryan McCarthy, 41, formed a relationship with his victim in 2022 and she moved in with him after falling pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage.
Not long afterwards the defendant became abusive and "horrible" towards her.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard there was an incident in April 2022 when the couple were arguing and he "got into her face" while shouting aggressively.
The victim said she remembered being on the floor when McCarthy dragged her with both hands towards the front door.
He then straddled her, pinned her down and grabbed her face before threatening to "gouge her eyes out", causing her to cover her head and begin crying.
Prosecutor Laurence Jones said in the summer of 2022 the defendant "went mad" after he saw a Snapchat post by the victim captioned "on my own again" after he had gone to bed.
After the victim said she was going to call the police, McCarthy, of Merthyr Tydfil, attempted to grab her phone and "threw her round the bedroom like a ragdoll".
He threw her into the walls and onto the bed before gripping her by the throat with his hands and squeezing her neck until she could no longer breathe.
She blacked out but after regaining consciousness McCarthy emptied a two-litre bottle of Coca Cola over her.
The victim managed to get outside but the defendant then dragged her back inside and locked the door to prevent her from leaving.
He kept her in the house while grabbing her tightly and "cwtching her" to stop her from leaving, the court heard.
She was left feeling "drained and exhausted" and told the defendant she would remain in a relationship so she could be allowed to leave.
The victim said she "feared for her life".
In May 2023, the victim discovered she was pregnant again, but the defendant hit her on the floor and kicked her to the body, pulled her hair and dragged her around the floor "like a dog".
When she told McCarthy she was pregnant, he went "ballistic" and said he did not want the baby.
When she told him she wanted to keep the child, he screamed at her, the court heard.
Following the birth of their daughter there was another incident when the defendant chased the victim out of her bedroom and when she fell to the floor he placed his hand on her throat.
She emailed the police about the incident but when they attended she was too fearful to report the defendant due to the potential repercussions.
The couple split up but they still saw each other so the defendant could see his daughter.
On September 7 last year the victim had put her daughter into her car to visit a friend but McCarthy turned up in his vehicle and pulled up alongside her.
He got out of the car and shouted at her, saying "Get on Tinder you slag".
She told him to go away and attempted to close the car door but he grabbed her by the face and forcefully shut the car door on her right leg.
McCarthy then attempted to take the sleeping child out of the car but the victim got out to stop him.
When she attempted to get back into the car the defendant grabbed her and threw her onto the road, causing injuries to her elbows and wrist.
The victim knocked on a neighbour's door for help, but McCarthy grabbed her from behind and threw her into the passenger seat of the car before grabbing her head and pushing it into the console while shouting at her.
He again attempted to take the child out of the car but a neighbour intervened and the victim asked her to call the police.
Eventually the neighbour was able to drive off and went to a friend's house nearby where she called the police.
The defendant was arrested and denied the offences or claimed he could not remember them.
McCarthy, of Market Street, Dowlais, later pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation, controlling/coercive behaviour and assault by beating.
The court heard he has 10 previous convictions including offences of battery and criminal damage committed against a former partner.
In mitigation Kirsten Murphy said her client is remorseful and knows he needs to address his behaviour.
The defence barrister said the defendant has a successful tyre business and is responsible for seven employees.
She said her client had struggled with substance misuse, having used alcohol and drugs to cope with bereavements and trauma, but he is now abstinent.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Hopkins said the way the defendant had treated the victim was "simply appalling".
The judge added: "She spoke about you dragging her like a dog but very few people would treat a dog the way you treated her.
Men who use domestic violence against a woman at this level can only expect an immediate custodial sentence." McCarthy was sentenced to two years imprisonment and was made subject to a restraining order for six years.
