Kettering man strangled his girlfriend until she thought he was going to kill her

Raymond Hurren sobbed his way through a court hearing on Thursday (June 6) after admitting a string of violent offences.

The 40-year-old Kettering man pleaded guilty to strangling his girlfriend to the point where she believed he was going to kill her.

It’s not the first time the self-employed joiner has been before the courts for violence – he was jailed back in 2022 for a racist attack on a British Asian man in Cuetopia.

The defendant had been dating his girlfriend for six months when, on April 15, they argued.

Hurren punched her in the side of the face, pushed her into the wall then smashed her mobile phone.

He left, but on April 19 returned to find her with a male pal in the property in the early hours of the morning.

Hurren, of Wellington Street, Kettering, punched him in the chest and attempted to hit him again before calming down.

The following morning, the victim had left the door open for Hurren to come and collect his things. But at 8.30am he arrived and shouted ‘where’s the c***?’ before launching an ‘horrific’ attack on his former partner.

Prosecuting, Micaila Williams said: “He punched her multiple times to the face, head and back.

"He then grabbed her and threw her around, strangling her with both hands around her throat, restricting her airways for around 20 seconds before letting go.

“She felt dazed and nauseous.

“She tried to leave but he grabbed her, smashed her against the wall and ordered her upstairs.

"He said what she did to him was way worse: ‘Mental is worse than physical’.

“She thought the defendant was going to kill her. She was scared and thinking he should just get on with it so she didn’t have to tolerate the abuse anymore.”

The father-of-three began throwing items at the victim as he as gathering his belongings. When she tried to use her phone to call for help, he took it from her.

She then ran barefoot to her dad’s house. By the time she returned, the defendant had smashed up her phone.

In a statement to the court, the woman said that her children had not been able to return home because the place had been left in such a mess.

"My daughter’s phone has been smashed to pieces,” she said.

"I’m left scared and alone. He beat me up in my own home, the home he’d done his best to make happy for us all."

After the incident Hurren told police he ‘completely rage blanked.’

He pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal damage, one of intentional strangulation, one of actual bodily harm and two of common assault.

Astonishingly, the court was asked not to impose a restraining order because the pair want to resume their relationship. Hurren’s girlfriend was in court to support him.

The court heard Hurren has 30 previous convictions on his record dating back to 2001 and that he has ‘issues with alcohol’.

Mitigating, Will Forber-Heyward said that his client ‘lost control’, adding: “Alcohol is a trigger for him. He understands he needs to work hard to make amends.

"He is deeply remorseful. He says he wants to be a better person.”

Recorder Sunil Khanna said: “You subjected her to an horrific attack.

"You put both your hands around her throat so she could not breathe.”

Hurren was jailed for 20 months, of which he will serve half in prison.

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