Lurgan dad only stopped trying to choke ex-girlfriend when young child entered room, court hears

Peter Brady, aged 35, with an address at Bayview Park, Craigavon, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court accused of threatening to kill Natasha Wells, assaulting her and criminal damage on September 25 last year.

Ms Wells, the mother of Brady’s child, died in December last year just weeks before her brother Shane Whitla was murdered in Lurgan in January 2023.

A prosecutor told the court that on Sunday, September 25, 2022 at approximately 6.20pm, police received a call from Natasha Wells reporting that her ex-partner, the defendant, called at her house and assaulted her before making threats to kill her in front of their two-year-old child.

“Police called to Carrick Drive, Lurgan and spoke with the injured party who said the defendant had called at her house to discuss child care arrangements when he suddenly grabbed her by the neck and put her in a choke hold. She stated she almost lost consciousness and the defendant only stopped when their two-year-old daughter came into the room crying.

“She stated that during the incident Peter said to her ‘You know I’ll kill you. You know I’ll kill you’. He then let go and ran out of the house.

“Upon arrest, he said ‘I wouldn’t have grabbed her if she hadn’t stabbed me’. Police noted a blood smear on the living room floor and recorded this. On conveyance to custody he urinated in the back seat of the police vehicle. The injured party in this case has sadly passed away.”

Brady’s barrister David McKeown referred to the ‘warts and all’ pre-sentence report. “Since the injured party unfortunately became deceased in December her family has suffered considerable tragedy. He would have been quite closely associated with that family. Her deceased brother was the victim of a high profile incident in January and is now deceased as a result of that.

Mr McKeown said his client had been struggling and self-medicating. “He has indicated that despite that he was convicted in his absence and doesn’t accept necessarily the facts, he is not intending to appeal. He had suffered a stab wound and police will confirm that and there was potentially a workable defence but he is keen to put the matter behind him so he can get on with life and I would ask you to give him credit for that.”

District Judge Bernie Kelly said: “This was a nasty incident. You ran it to contest and you were convicted in your absence and if it is any consolation to you, any suggestion of self defence there was would not have worked insofar as choking is not a reasonable response. Trying to strangle somebody would never be considered self defence.

“Taking into consideration your previous record, lack of anything of a directly relevant nature, although one entry that does keep repeating itself might explain an awful lot about your underlying difficulties and they are covered in the pre-sentence report as well.”

He was handed down a community-based disposal including a Probation Order of 18 months and a Community Service Order of 80 hours.