Man jailed after partner suffered years of abuse

A MAN who left his former partner terrified after years of verbal abuse, violence, threats and coercive control has been jailed.

- By CARL EVE

Keith Northey, aged 35 and of no fixed abode, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court to be sentenced for a breach of a suspended sentence and for one count of coercive control of his former partner.

Northey had previously been sentenced at Truro Crown Court in April 2024 to six months imprisonment suspended for 24 months for the offence of actual bodily harm - also upon his former partner.

Prosecutor Michael Brown told the court that on March 24 this year Northey pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates Court to sending messages to his former partner on January 29, threatening to kill her.

The court heard that on the day of his trial, July 29, Northey pleaded guilty to the charge of coercive control, which put him in breach of his suspended sentence.

Mr Brown said his victim - whom The Herald is not naming - began dating him in February 2020 and due to the Covid restrictions, she moved in with him the following month.

He said her description of the relationship was initially positive but it quickly deteriorated and this often happened when alcohol was involved.

He explained that after she miscarried, North-ey’s nature changed for the worse, going from verbal abuse to physical and “more over methods of control”.

The court was told Northey began behaving in a “routinely” abusive manner towards, calling her a “rat c***” routinely telling her she was in the wrong and she was left feeling she never did anything right.

He would routinely collect her from work, which she at first thought was normal, but later realised it was another form of control.

Mr Brown said Northey would regularly threaten her with violence saying “if you don’t leave I will drag you out by your hair” apologising afterwards and “being nice” before eventually returning to regularly abusing her again.