Lemington thug threatened to stab ex through neck while toddler was upstairs
by Sara Nichol · ChronicleLiveA thug threatened to stab his ex through the neck as he banged on her front door while a toddler was upstairs.
Richard Spanton's relationship with the victim had recently come to an end and he'd been "struggling to accept it" when he turned up at her Newcastle home. A court heard that the woman was so terrified as the 36-year-old stood on her doorstep and threatened to kill her with a knife, that she frantically rang police twice.
Prosecutors said that the first call suddenly ended but, in the second, shouting and banging could be heard in the background and the victim sounded "extremely distressed". Spanton was arrested and appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court in custody 24 hours later, where he pleaded guilty to making threats to kill.
Gurjot Kaur, prosecuting, said Spanton and the victim had recently split up and Spanton had been admitted to hospital following "an attempt on his own life". However, he discharged himself and went straight over to his ex's house on Tuesday, October 29.
Ms Kaur continued: "She was inside with her two-year-old child. She makes two calls to the police. In the first, she is distressed and the call cuts off.
"She rings police back and says there's someone at the door, booting the door. A noise can be heard in the background. [The victim] is telling the person to stop it. She confirms the person outside is her ex-partner.
"He's making threats to put a knife through her neck and stab her. That's the threats to kill. She says this is all about the end of the relationship."
The court heard that Spanton, of Northumberland Road, in Lemington, had four offences on his record, including for assault and criminal damage. Kash Khan, defending, said the victim had been sending Spanton "mixed signals" about their relationship.
Mr Khan continued: "While in hospital, she makes checks on him, so he discharges himself. He goes to her house and they argue. He then makes the empty threats. The child was not in the room with [the victim] but was upstairs."
Magistrates adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report and released Spanton on conditional bail to next appear on December 11 back at the same court.
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