Wakefield man grabs kitchen knife and threatens to kill partner after she refused to make him a bacon sandwich

Martin Taylor had only been in the relationship with the woman for less than two months when they both got into an argument in August last year and he grabbed the kitchen blade.

They had both been drinking and she admitted to having had a sexual encounter with another person. The 59-year-old punched her to the arm, slapped her to the face and called her a “dirty sl*g” then lifted the blade up and told her he would kill her.

Prosecuting the case at Leeds Crown Court, Charlotte Noddings said: “The complainant genuinely believed him.”

The neighbour heard the screams, the police were called and Taylor was arrested.

While in bail, on October 3, again the pair had been drinking at her Pontefract flat and another argument broke out, with the woman once again calling the police when she thought Taylor was about to punch her. He tried to grab her phone and jostled with her, then tried to stop her answering the door when the police eventually turned up.

He grabbed her by the throat during another argument on December 2, then finally in the early hours of December 28 he went to her house and became abusive, demanding she make him a bacon sandwich and told her “I’m going to kill you” when she refused.

He was arrested yet again and placed on remand in HMP Leeds to prevent him breaking his bail conditions any further. Taylor, of Grove Lea Walk, Wakefield, has a lengthy record for previous convictions, mainly for shoplifting but some for violence.

He admitted four counts of assault and a threat to kill against his partner. Appearing in court via video link from prison, he spent most of the hearing staring at his feet.

Mitigating, Timothy Jacobs said Taylor acknowledged that he has a drinking problem and can only count 12 days in recent years when he has not touched booze.

He said: “He does not recognise the person he was on those occasions. It’s not the sort of behaviour he regularly engages in. It was a difficult relationship not entirely of his making. They were both volatile, both drinking to excess and both arguing, but he crossed the line.

"He is nearly 60 and not the same man he was when he was last in prison. He has not had an alcoholic drink in prison, and as your worship is aware, bootleg alcohol is often available in prison. But he has not touched it while he has been there.”

Judge Simon Batiste jailed Taylor for 20 months and gave him a 10-year restraining order to keep him away from the woman and her flat.

He told him: “You have a long record of previous convictions but a limited record for violence and no offences since 2010. But you used significant violence against your partner. Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified in this case.”