A PENRITH woman twice subjected her estranged husband to strangulation during an attack in their home that left him with bruising all over his body.

The confrontation between 25-year-old Madara Ivanova and the ex-partner she was still living with turned violent as she repeatedly punched him and at one stage banged his head against a wall, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

She admitted an actual bodily harm assault and non-fatal strangulation. Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.

The barrister explained that the defendant and her victim had been married for six months but the relationship was troubled, and they decided to separate, thought they continued to live together in the same Penrith flat.

Shortly after this decision, on August 30 last year, a disagreement developed over the husband’s plans to go out socially with a mutual friend. The situation forced the friend to “choose” between Ivanova and her husband.

While the victim was at work, the defendant sent him a text message with an image of dirty clothes and she seemed to be accusing him of trying to “poison” her, said Mr Burke.

At their home, the dispute escalated into violence as she began punching him all over his body as he sat on the couch. “She banged his head off the wall and was pulling him around by the hair,” said Mr Burke.

“On at least two occasions, she had her hands around his neck, and he described her thumbs as digging in. There were two separate instances of strangulation, but in neither did he say his breathing was stopped.”

The multiple bruises the man sustained ranged in size from two inches to six inches, said the prosecutor. The defendant then appeared to resume the attack, with her behaviour becoming even more concerning.

“She was threatening to kill herself,” said Mr Burke. “She actually did get a knife.” The husband suffered hand wounds as he tried to stop her from injuring herself, though she did cut herself.

Mr Burke continued: “He described a lot of blood and the police certainly saw injuries when they arrived.

"She was saying: ‘Do you want to know how it feels to die?’

"He was clearly himself emotional and overwrought; he was talking about them both going together, which was inconsistent with him trying to stop her doing what she was doing to herself.”

Ivanova's wrist injuries were later assessed as being "superficial."

The defendant, now living at Pacific Court, Hull, denies asking her victim about knowing what it was like to die. The victim suffered extensive bruising and, he believes, concussion after his head was banged on the wall.

In her interview with a probation officer, Ivanova expressed regret for her actions, the court heard. Because she was legally unrepresented, Judge Michael Fanning outlined background information from Ivanova’s pre-sentence report.

A Latvian national, she was “left in this country” by her mother when she was 15, she told the probation officer.

“You had to do what you could to support yourself,” said the judge.

He noted the defendant’s mental health difficulties, and that she had never before been in trouble. Confirming he would impose a suspended sentence, Judge Fanning said immediate custody would entail Ivanova leaving prison with no accommodation and no job.

The offence had been “one” incident in what she had described as a toxic relationship.

Judge Fanning said he was satisfied there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and that Ivanova did not represent a threat to the wider public. She had abused her husband but was not herself fully mature.

He imposed a one-year jail term, suspended for a year. The sentence includes 30 days of rehabilitation and a five-year restraining order banning any contact with the victim.

Court papers showed this includes a ban from going to Arnison Court, Penrith. “That relationship is completely dead,” added the judge. The victim's father was in court to see sentence being passed. 

* The defendant's first name in court papers has also been spelled as Madarela Ivanova.