Man jailed after strangling woman until she passed out

Kieran Breslin, 44, of Duncreggan Road in Derry, was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Bishop Street Courthouse on Thursday

A man has been jailed after he admitted to strangling, assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-partner in Londonderry.

Kieran Breslin, 44, of Duncreggan Road in Derry, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for a charge of non-fatal strangulation of his then partner in July.

He also admitted threatening to kill the woman, assaulting her and breaching a non-molestation order on the same date.

District Judge Barney McElholm told Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Thursday the courts were determined to stamp out domestic abuse crimes.

'You put your hands around my neck'

The judge was told that a woman's voice could be heard on a 999 call saying: "You put your hands around my neck" during "a disturbance" on 7 July 7 2024.

Police traced the call to the defendant’s phone and attended the address where they found Breslin and a woman present.

The woman told them that there had been an argument upstairs and Breslin followed her downstairs.

She said he had grabbed her by the throat and squeezed until she passed out.

The woman also told officers that Breslin had pushed her across a coffee table, threatened to kill her and punched her to the head several times.

The defendant claimed that the woman had attacked him.

Breslin told police he had no memory of what had happened and accepted he had gone to the woman’s home in breach of the order.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said his client waived his right to a pre-sentence report.

He said Breslin "accepts and regrets" his behaviour that night and was trying to get his life on track.

Judge McElhom said the offences were "very serious" and there had been "an explosion" of strangulation offences in recent years.