Coventry man who hid dark secret subjected girlfriend to ‘living nightmare’
A ‘violent and controlling’ Coventry man has been jailed after subjecting his girlfriend to a campaign of twisted abuse which included ‘burning her with a lighter and holding a knife to her neck.’ Omar White was said to have made her life a ‘living nightmare’ after the pair met on Instagram.
She had got off to a good start in her relationship with White, who met her family and moved in with her within a month, reports BirminghamLive. But in that time the 29-year-old had successfully managed to hide his ‘anger, rage and aggression’ which had led to him being jailed for attacking his previous partner with a baseball bat, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
His more recent girlfriend, who was vulnerable due to debilitating health conditions, had been close with her family and friends, was proud of her home and had saved up to £10,000. But within a few months of meeting White, her flat was trashed, her body was covered in bruises and she had been completely cut off from everyone as well as plunged into debt, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Between July and October 2023, White damaged her belongings including her mobile phone, guitar and TV. He also punched her in the chest and face, strangled her so that she could not breathe and burnt her with a lighter, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
During a cruel campaign of abuse against his girlfriend, who lived in Birmingham, White also held a knife to her neck and threatened to burn down her parents’ house with them inside and fixed cable ties to doors to stop her from leaving. He admitted one offence of controlling and coercive behaviour and was jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court.
Prosecutor Lisa Hancox said: “Before she had the misfortune of meeting White she was a happy young woman who enjoyed a good social life and a close relationship with her family. She enjoyed going to car boots and shopping trips with her mother on a regular basis.
“Her father helped her with administrative tasks but otherwise she lived independently. She was proud of her flat and through living sensibly she had managed to save around £10,000.”
Ms Hancox continued: “By the time the relationship ended and it did so as a result of police intervention in October 2023, she can only be described as a shell of her former self, covered in injuries all over her body. Her flat had been damaged by White, property smashed and savings entirely gone due to spending consistently at his insistence.”
White and the unnamed victim met on Instagram and the ‘relationship started well’ as they got to know each other, with White meeting her parents and then moving in after a month, Birmingham Crown Court heard. Ms Hancox said: “Slowly but surely he began to control every aspect of her life through a campaign of fear, intimidation, threats and violence.”
White broke her phone by throwing it off a balcony and controlled her contact with her family, telling her she was not to speak to them behind his back, Birmingham Crown Court heard. He branded her parents ‘narcissists’ and claimed he was there to ‘save her.’
White prevented the woman from going anywhere by taking the keys to her home and car and in fits of anger ‘destroyed’ her TV, guitar and one of the walls in her property, Birmingham Crown Court heard. Ms Hancox then detailed the violence by saying how ‘more than once’ the defendant punched the victim in the chest and jaw, strangled her and used a lighter to burn her hand and leg.
She said: “He believed she had looked at someone else: jealousy was a consistent theme. He threatened her with a knife, holding it to her neck. He threatened to burn her parents’ house down.”
In October 2023, the concerned parents of the victim lost contact with her and called 999. Officers visited her home but the couple were not in, Birmingham Crown Court heard. Police spotted them walking along Bristol Road in Birmingham the following day and arrested White.
In a statement she described ‘the living nightmare of a life’ White had subjected her to including the physical abuse and how she thought she was going to be killed. She detailed how her strict diet, due to her health issues, was replaced by eating fast food multiple times a day, and how her bank balance was now minus £5,000.
She also outlined the ongoing effects of nightmares, panic attacks, trust issues and no longer feeling safe alone, Birmingham Crown Court heard. In 2022, White was sentenced to 22 months for assault and criminal damage for hitting another former partner with a baseball bat, breaking her arm, and trashing her home after she left, reports BirminghamLive.
Defending, Will Smout stated that White had written a letter of remorse and ‘taken the first steps to reflect on himself.’ He said: “He indicates childhood trauma and there is a clear theme of abandonment.
“When he was 13 his mother passed away. He lived with his step-father but the step-father abandoned the home and the family.
“Mr White identified that as a result of abandonment, he suffered PTSD and crippling anxiety. He accepts within relationships he struggles to form trust.”
But Judge Melbourne Inman KC pointed out that White had denied wrong-doing up until the day of his trial by which time the victim had already been cross-examined at a pre-recorded court hearing. He said: “I am afraid I do not consider your background or present explanation or statement of remorse has any mitigating effect, given the gravity of this case.”
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