A VIOLENT son was branded 'evil' by his mum after he attacked her and then a neighbour, smashing a rock into the woman’s head.

Aaron Hall's victim, who had simply been asking him to calm down after he became aggressive with his mum during a row over a mobile phone, was left covered in blood, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The 20-year-old resorted to extreme violence after his mother asked him to return her phone and he refused, saying he wanted to keep looking at Facebook and Snapchat.

The defendant, of Coronation Drive, Frizington, admitted five offences.

They were:

  • An assault causing actual bodily harm on his mum's neighbour.
  • A common assault on his mother.
  • A criminal damage offence.
  • Assaulting a police officer.
  • And breaching his criminal behaviour order.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, said Hall was banned from Cleator Moor under the terms of a criminal behaviour order imposed in October, 2020.

Despite that court order, on May 7 he went to his mother’s address. “She was expecting him and had cooked him some food,” said Mr Evans.

“While she was cooking, he asked if he could use her mobile phone. She said he could use it for a short period. When she asked for it back, he refused, saying that he was still on Facebook and Snapchat.

“He began shouting at her.”

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Over the next few minutes, Hall directed abusive comments at his mother and told her to “drop dead.”  He refused to leave the house and threatened to “smash her head in.”

When she took the phone from him and began calling 999, he grabbed her wrists,  twisting her arms up her back.

“She was screaming for him to get off,” said the prosecutor. Hall continued to yell abuse at his mother before then attacking a small table, kicking it with such force that it broke. He then went outside.

Mr Evans then outlined how the mother’s female neighbour had tried to intervene, hoping she could calm Hall down.

Arriving at the woman’s house, Hall’s mother was visibly shaking and upset. She told the neighbour how her son was smashing up the house, and expressed the hope that the woman could possibly placate him.

When the woman asked Hall to be calm, he became aggressive, pushing her back towards her front door. He threatened her and then began throwing rocks at her house. As the woman began closing her door, Hall ran forward and forced it open.

Forcing his way into her house, he pushed her down and the woman then felt a hard blow on the back of her head. Hall had hit her with a rock. Even after this, he threw the rock used in the assault at the house.

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Later, the defendant’s mother, recalling how she saw her neighbour covered in blood, said: “Throughout the whole incident, I was terrified. I just never know what he’s going to do next. He’s evil.”

Hall later headbutted the police officer who was sent to arrest him.

Brendan Burke, defending, said Hall had gone through a troubled childhood and suffered from ADHD. “In reality, we’re dealing with an extremely immature 20-year-old in this case,” said the barrister.

When released from jail, Hall would move in with his father and would be given work as a labourer, added the barrister.

Recorder Ian Unsworth said that the offending happened when Hall was “out of control”, the attack on his mother’s neighbour being launched at a time when she was acting in a wholly commendable way.

That attack could have caused a 'catastrophic injury,' observed the judge, adding that Hall wan habitually breached court orders.

He jailed the defendant for a total of two years.

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