He hit her so hard with a mop that the handle broke
Stan Adams appeared at Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A “terrified” woman thought that she was going to die when her heavy-drinking ex-boyfriend suffocated, strangled and assaulted her during a violent attack after angrily demanding to know if she was secretly seeing another man. Father-of-three Stan Adams warned her “I’m going to kill you” and he repeatedly asked her “Who is he?” after suddenly grabbing a knife.
He told the woman: “The f***ing house is going up” and he continued to demand to know who his ex-girlfriend had been texting, Hull Crown Court heard. Adams, 30, of Hull, admitted intentional suffocation, intentional strangulation and assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, on June 26 last year.
Eleanor Durdy, prosecuting, said that Adams and the woman were in a relationship for about six years until April last year. They had three children together. At first, things were fine and Adams was “really nice and caring” but, after a year, the woman began to notice a change.
He became controlling and violent and they briefly split up between November 2024 and February last year, although they continued to live together. By June last year, Adams had bail conditions preventing him from being at her home.
On June 26 last year, they had an argument on the telephone and Adams went to the woman’s home at about midnight. He asked to come in to discuss the argument.
He asked her whether she had been sleeping with someone else and, within seconds, he accused her of being a “sl*t” and seeing other men. “It caused another argument,” said Miss Durdy.
Adams told the woman: “I have seen that number on your phone.” He grabbed her mobile phone and tried to access it. “She managed to retrieve it back,” said Miss Durdy.
Adams started screaming: “I’m going to kill you.” She could smell alcohol on his breath. He grabbed her and threw her onto a couch. He told her: “I f***ing hate you. You have ruined my life.”
He motioned as if he was going to hit her and demanded to know who a text message was from. “He grabbed her by her hair,” said Miss Durdy. He forced her onto a settee and dragged her back into the living room.
He pulled her to the floor, injuring her shoulder. She pulled herself up to the sofa and he grabbed her foot.
Adams followed her to the kitchen, grabbed her from behind and pressed his forearm against her throat, choking her for about a minute. The woman was panicking and thought that she was going to die.
“She did manage to bite his hand,” said Miss Durdy. “He tried to choke her again but scratched her forehead as she managed to move. After choking her, he said he was going to destroy all her things.”
Adams picked up a knife and continued to shout: “Who is he?” He threw a lighter at her and used another lighter to set fire to some paperwork.
He told the woman: “The f***ing house is going up.” He continued to demand to know who his ex-girlfriend had been texting. He splashed water around from a kettle and snatched a mop from the woman.
“He hit her hard enough with the mop handle to break it,” said Miss Durdy. “She screamed for him to get out.”
The woman later said: “I am gutted it has come to this. I can’t stay in this relationship and I can’t stay with him. I am terrified of Adams. I am really scared. I am terrified if Adams comes back to my house.”
Adams handed himself in to Clough Road police station, Hull, on June 30 last year. He denied assaulting the woman. The case was originally listed for trial but he changed his pleas. He had a conviction for driving while disqualified in 2023.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that the behaviour by Adams was “truly terrible” and he accepted that it was “awful” after the relationship “turned sour”. He expressed regret that he did not plead guilty earlier.
“He has shown real understanding of his behaviour and he has shown genuine, true remorse,” said Miss Scott. “He really has fully accepted his behaviour.
“He had no right to behave in the way that he did to her. Things have progressed quite significantly. He recognises now that drinking has been a real problem for him. He has been completely sober since October.” Adams had changed jobs recently. He was previously an accounts manager but he was now a director of sales. He managed a men’s football team and he had three children aged four, two and one.
Adams was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, 26 sessions of a probation service domestic abuse programme and 10 days’ rehabilitation.
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.