The two women had just come home from a night out when the violence flared
An enraged husband angrily strangled his wife after a drink-fuelled argument that was sparked by her seemingly whispering to another woman about a man that she had met at a party. Marcin Ciesla confronted his estranged wife after she and her female housemate returned home in the early hours of the morning after a night out.
He slammed her against a wall and pulled out clumps of her hair during the bad-tempered confrontation, Hull Crown Court heard. Ciesla, 28, formerly of Melwood Grove, off Beverley Road, but recently of Sir Leo Schultz Road, Orchard Park estate, north Hull, admitted offences of intentional strangulation and assault on February 22.
Katy Welford, prosecuting, said that Ciesla and the woman were going through a divorce at the time of the incident, although they were living in the same house. They had been in a relationship for four years and they had had been married for two of those.
A female housemate also lived there. The woman and the housemate returned home at 3.30am after going out the previous evening and they found Ciesla in the living room drinking.
The two women went upstairs to the bathroom but Ciesla became jealous and thought that they were whispering about another man that she had apparently met at a party. He forced open the door and “barged in” and grabbed hold of his wife by her hair and slammed her into a wall.
He tried to pull her down the stairs and told her to leave. The housemate tried to help but could not do so, although she called the police. Ciesla tried to take the phone from her.
He put the woman in a choke hold around her neck and restricted her breathing. The woman and the housemate went upstairs to a bedroom. Ciesla tried to get inside by kicking the door.
The police arrived at 3.50am and Ciesla was arrested and taken to Clough Road police station. “Two clumps of the victim’s hair were found on the floor,” said Miss Welford.
Ciesta later told police that he hurled insults at his wife after believing that she was whispering about a man that she had met at a party. He admitted that there was an argument and he grabbed her around her neck in the chin area.
He denied putting her in a choke hold but he admitted that he might have restricted her breathing. “He said that he did not know why he did this but he wanted to scare the victim,” said Miss Welford.
“The victim scratched his neck. She was angry at him for starting an argument. He denied grabbing the victim by her hair.
“He said that he did come back upstairs but he just wanted to apologise and they wouldn’t allow him to.” He had drunk five beers but he had not eaten anything, making him more drunk.
Alexander Goscimski, mitigating, said that Ciesla pleaded guilty on a full facts basis, even though there was no statement from the victim, who had not cooperated with the prosecution. “He is under no illusion about the seriousness of the offence of intentional strangulation,” said Mr Goscimski.
“He knows what could well happen today.” Ciesla, who is Polish, had no previous convictions and he was a hardworking man, who had worked in the same job for the eight years since arriving in Hull.
He was married to the woman but there were divorce proceedings. “He regrets his actions very much,” said Mr Goscimski. “They are out of character for him.
“Alcohol did play a role but it’s not any explanation at all. He acted in a way that he shouldn’t. He regrets that very much.”
Ciesla was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, 120 hours’ unpaid work and 20 days’ rehabilitation. He was ordered to pay £500 costs.