Man made girlfriend jump out of window after repeatedly punching her while holding pillow over her face

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A man forced his girlfriend to jump out of a second-floor window after beating and suffocating her, a court has heard.

Remmel Parker was convicted of numerous offences for his campaign of abuse against the woman, who was the mother of his child.

Woolwich Crown Court heard that the 20-year-old threatened his girlfriend, whose name The Independent has chosen not to report, into silence over three years of abuse.

On one occasion, he held a pillow over her face while punching her in a sustained attack.

When she broke free, Parker told her the only way she would escape was by jumping out of the window, causing her to leap from the second floor.

The woman survived the fall but after she returned from hospital, Parker resumed the assault by suffocating and strangling her.

He told her to lie about the cause of her injuries, but she confided in an aunt, who contacted the police.

Parker, of Blackheath in London, denied all the offences but was convicted of two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, two counts of actual bodily harm and breaching a non-molestation order.

He is to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court next month.

Richard Partridge, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “As the father of her child, [the victim] should have found in Parker someone she could trust and who supported her, not someone who regularly controlled, assaulted and manipulated her.

“For years, [she] was terrified to tell anyone about the abuse she endured. Parker’s endless threats to her and her family secured her silence for three years.”

DC Jay Gasson, of the Metropolitan Police, said “dangerous and violent” Parker had also sought to control his victim’s daily life.

“I hope that this verdict sends a message to those who are violent and coercive in a domestic setting, that police take these matters seriously and will fully investigate allegations and place perpetrators before the court,” he added.

“I encourage anyone who is a victim of physical or mental domestic abuse to contact officers without delay with the assurance that you will be listened to and supported.”

Controlling and coercive behaviour became a crime in 2015, covering offences committed while in an intimate or family relationship.