Wellingborough man strangled partner so viciously her bed collapsed
A terminally-ill Wellingborough drug addict strangled his girlfriend until she ‘believed with all her heart’ she as going to die – then he lied to police that she had had a seizure.
John Michael Cansfield led a police officer into the flat where the woman lay on the ground choking, and unable to speak.
He told the officer that she had had a seizure – but the truth was that he had pinned her to the bed, knelt on her chest, and held her arms above her head before squeezing her neck.
Cansfield was initially charged with attempted murder but on the day he was due to stand trial at Northampton Crown Court earlier this week that charge was dropped. He instead pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation and attempted robbery.
The 55-year-old, who the court heard has previous convictions for manslaughter and GBH, is receiving treatment for myeloma, which is a terminal blood cancer. The judge was told he may have between six and seven years to live.
He put his hands around her neck and squeezed
Recovering heroin addict Cansfield, of Melton Road, Wellingborough, had been in a relationship with his victim for about a year and was her registered carer, although the pair did not live together.
On the evening of September 26 last year, Cansfield visited the woman’s home, to which he had a key. He asked her for heroin.
Prosecuting, Paul Prior, said that the woman did have a £5 bag of the class-A drug in her pocket but she told him she hadn’t had her dose for the day yet and refused to hand it over.
Mr Prior said: “She said ‘I’ve had enough of you stealing my drugs when you have got your own’. She told him to leave.
"He told her to give him a bag and he would leave.” Cansfield then started to search through the victim’s belongings for drugs but couldn’t find any. She was lying on the bed on her back. He jumped on top of her and she tried to push him off.
Mr Prior said: “He grabbed her by her wrists and put his knee on her chest. He put all his weight on her. He then put his hands around her neck and squeezed.”
‘Give me a bag, give me a bag’
Thankfully, the woman managed to shout for help and the downstairs neighbour heard, and phoned police at about 7.23pm.
Cansfield then put his hand over her mouth and nose to stop her shouting, which also had the effect of restricting her breathing.
"She thought he was going to kill her,” said Mr Prior.
"She tried to tell him she couldn’t breathe but he carried on.
"He was shouting ‘give me a bag, give me a bag.’”
An officer arrived 12 minutes later. The victim later told police that she believed the attack had lasted for about ten minutes. Cansfield used such force that the bed collapsed, although he continued his attack as she was on top of the mattress on the floor. She was able to bang on the wall which again was heard by the neighbour.
Horrifying footage played in court showed PC Arron Ward arriving to find the woman lying on the floor.
The defendant was smiling when he arrived at the door and he could be heard telling the officer she had had a seizure.
"Initially he took him at his word,” said Mr Prior.
But Cansfield had, at no point, tried to call an ambulance.
The video showed the woman in a daze, unable to speak and struggling to breathe. She had marks on her neck. PC Ward could be heard trying to rouse her, saying: “Come on my love, you’re alright,” while telling the paramedics on the phone that her breathing was very shallow.
When Cansfield went into another room to deal with the dog, the woman was able to indicate to PC Ward what had happened.
The woman refused to go with paramedics to hospital but she was eventually seen by a doctor who noted bruising to her neck and chest, as well as scratches and abrasions and a cut on the inside of her lip. The injuries were inconsistent with the defendant’s lie about her having a seizure, which he repeated to police in interview.
‘I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t shut my eyes’
The court was told that Cansfield had served four years in prison after the manslaughter of a baby under the age of one back in 1997. No further details were given about that incident.
He also had convictions for driving while disqualified, drunk driving and taking a car without consent. In 2021 he was convicted of a Section 20 GBH after breaking into a home through a kitchen window before threatening the man inside with a knife. The man grabbed the knife and received a cut to his finger.
He also has convictions from 2023 and 2024 for possession of heroin.
As his antecedent record was read to the court, Cansfield, wearing a turquoise polo shirt and a tracksuit top, leaned back in his chair in the dock.
A victim personal statement was read by to the court which said that ‘everything had now changed’ for the woman, who has found it very difficult to leave her flat since the incident.
“I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t shut my eyes, without being brought back to lying on the floor thinking I was going to die,£ she said.
“I’ve been having panic attacks. I now just can’t live my life.”
She said that she was going to have to move away from Wellingborough and said that if it weren’t for her dog, she ‘wouldn’t be here’.
"My dog has been my life support,” she said.
"This has changed my life forever.
"I’m now known as a grass for going to the police.
"He’s going to come out of prison but the impact on me will never go away. I trusted him with all my heart and he’s betrayed me so badly.
"I believed with all of my heart and my soul I was going to die that day.”
The court was told in mitigation that Cansfield had caught sepsis while in prison and that a blood test had then shown he had myeloma.
He had initially been given a very poor prognosis and told he had months to live, but new autologous stem cell treatment means he could live for up to seven years.
He is on the prison’s hospital wing and is now heroin-free.
‘It will prolong your life’
An indefinite restraining order was imposed by His Honour Judge Herb'kpert KC, who sentenced Cansfield on Thursday (March 26) for the attempted robbery of the victim’s heroin, and strangulation.
Giving him 20 per cent credit for his guilty plea, Judge Herbert said that the attack was a ‘prolonged act of violence against a vulnerable victim’.
He gave him four years and nine months in prison and said: “I understand the treatment for myeloma is difficult but it’s treatment that will prolong your life,
"When you come out of prison you will still have a number of years left with which to enjoy your life.
"If you go back to your class-A drug addiction you will find that those years will reduce.
The judge also recommended PC Ward for a commendation, which he will receive at a future court hearing.
The court heard how he was in a ‘difficult situation’ and on his own, but managed to keep the defendant calm, give treatment to the victim, ascertain what had happened and call for help.