Man denies trying to strangle partner

Antonio Villafane, also known as Anthony Manson, pictured arriving at Cardiff Crown Court on 30 September

A man accused of trying to strangle his partner and repeatedly assaulting her has declined to give evidence at his trial, a court heard.

Antonio Villafane, 67, from Tintern, Monmouthshire, has denied seven charges including coercive or controlling behaviour, strangulation, unlawful wounding, actual bodily harm and fraud.

Defending, Martha Smith-Higgins told the jury at Cardiff Crown Court she would address what she described as "the elephant in the room," explaining that defendants could not be forced to give evidence in court.

Ms Smith-Higgins said Mr Villafane, also known as Anthony Manson, denied the claims during more than nine hours of police interviews after his arrest in summer 2023.

"He was asked at length about allegations. He answered those questions and he said this did not happen," she said.

"In reality, what more could he have said?"

Mr Villafane is also accused of forcing his partner Sally Anne Norman, 64, to wear an Islamic headscarf to hide bruising after he beat her when she refused to have sex with him.

The court heard the couple met in 2015 in Glastonbury and their relationship "snowballed".

Mrs Norman left her husband Andrew to live with Mr Villafane and she later received a divorce settlement of more than £250,000.

She told the trial that Villafane isolated her from her family and friends, spent the money from her divorce settlement and forced her to work on land they bought in the Wye Valley.

Mrs Norman said she finally left him in July 2022, the morning after he had tried to strangle her while forcing her to eat a Chinese meal.

Emma Harris, prosecuting, told the jury this was a trial about "control, manipulation and violence."

She reminded the jury that Mrs Norman claimed she was hit over the head with a fire poker, beaten with a hawthorn walking stick, imprisoned in a caravan for hours at a time and told to pray for forgiveness.

She said Mrs Norman thought her partner wanted to kill her and believed a large hole on their land had been dug for her.

Mrs Norman also told police he tied her hands and feet then forced her head into a tool box filled with dirty rusty water eight times.

The judge has been summing up the evidence, with the jury expected to retire to consider their verdict later.