Brute made woman crawl like a dog, flicked cigarettes at her, then threatened to rape and kill her

A brute made a woman crawl "like a dog" while he flicked cigarettes at her before threatening to rape and beat her to death.

Over a five month period Martin Brown controlled who the woman spoke to, took over her finances, stopped her from going to work, damaged her home and called her vile names.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim would be locked inside the house, in the Sunderland area, if Brown decided to go out and was only permitted to talk to people over the phone if it was on loud speaker.

The court heard the woman said she was "made to crawl like a dog" while he flicked cigarettes at her and she was left so traumatised by the whole ordeal that she lost a job that she loved, her home and was unable to pay her bills.

When the victim bravely ended the relationship for good, Brown said he would torture, rape and kill her during a terrifying and violent attack.

Mr Recorder Shufqat Khan told Brown the woman was left "destroyed" by him and said: "She told you on that day she wanted to end the relationship. You responded, as you often did, by becoming angry toward her.

"You said 'you are not leaving me', 'I'm going to torture you'.

"You locked the doors and kicked her in the ribs. When she fell to the floor you continued to kick her. She was terrified."

Recorder Khan said Brown kicked the woman in the face then started laughing at her and added: "She got up and went to the kitchen and you followed her, grabbed a kitchen knife and said to her 'you know you are dead tonight, you are dead, I'm going to torture you, I'm going to beat you and I'm going to stab you, you are dead'.

"She moved backwards and you advanced towards her, put the knife down and said 'I will enjoy more beating you to death than stabbing you'."

The court heard Brown then threatened to go and have sex with another woman then "pin you down and I'm going to rape you", which he interrupted the hearing to deny.

The court heard the woman has been left having nightmares and now suffers from PTSD.

She said in a victim impact statement: "I don't want anyone else to suffer at the hands of Brown the way I've done. He should not be allowed to get away with this.

"I can't begin to describe the fear and trauma this has caused me. The abuse was not just physical but emotional and mental.

"I was isolated and had no one to turn to and I was not allowed my own phone or to see my family without him present. He has changed me as a person.

"He took over my house and told me who was allowed in. He made me feel inhumane, making me crawl on the floor like a dog while he flicked cigarettes at me."

Referring to the the night of the shocking attack, she added: "I even offered to give him my house if he would let me go. I honestly believed I was going to lose my life if I didn't escape that night.

"I wanted him to put me out of my misery. I felt as if there was no escape.

"If he gets out he will do it to someone else. Maybe they won't be as lucky as me."

Brown, 24, of no fixed address, who has previous convictions and was out of prison on licence at the time, admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, assault and making threats to kill.

He was jailed for 42 months and issued with a restraining order to keep him away from the victim.

Vic Laffey, defending, said Brown's mental health deteriorated and added: "He is apologetic for the way he acted. He is determined to remain substance free going forward."