Sheffield thug subjected partner to beatings and threatened to kill her and her family after she went to cops

A Sheffield man who subjected his partner to horrific physical abuse, and threatened to kill both her and her mother after she went to the police, has been jailed for over four years. 

Sheffield Crown Court was told how the former partner of defendant, Aaron Parsley, believed he was capable of carrying through the terrifying threats because she was aware of his previous conviction for false imprisonment. 

Parsley had described subjecting individuals he suspected had ‘informed’ on someone close to him to ‘serious assaults,’ after inviting them to his house, the court heard. 

During a hearing held on October 2, 2023, prosecuting barrister, Graham O’Sullivan, said Parsley, aged 32, and his former partner, the complainant, entered into a relationship in November 2022; and the complainant says that while things between them were initially ‘okay,’ his behaviour quickly changed after they moved in together. 

"She says he was possessive, jealous and aggressive," Mr O’Sullivan said, adding that this led to the pair breaking up and getting back together a number of times. 

In the run-up to an incident which took place on April 24, 2023, the complainant noticed Parsley, of Longley Hall Road, Longley, appeared to be on cocaine ‘as early as 9am,’ Mr O’Sullivan told the court.

He continued: "That evening, a friend messaged her to say he had got into university. Later on in the evening, the defendant shouted: ‘You’re messaging other men in my house.

"He grabbed her hair bun, pulled her up by it, he then dragged her by her hair towards the front door. He suddenly stopped and said ‘sorry’."

When the complainant subsequently took the bun out, chunks of her hair came out. 

Another incident took place on May 5, 2023, at Parsley’s house, when he was seemingly ‘off his head,’ the court heard. 

"He asked her if he could go through her phone. He was looking at it for around 15 minutes. While looking through it, he found a picture of the back of a male friend’s head. That picture also had bedding in it. As soon as he saw it, he assumed she had slept with her friend," Mr O’Sullivan said. 

The complainant denied sleeping with her friend, and Parsley repeatedly asked if she was lying to him.

Mr O’Sullivan continued: "He proceeded to assault her, smacking her around the face with full force, punching her at least five times to the head causing her to fall to the floor."

Parsley subsequently locked the door, took a knife off his kitchen worktop and threatened to kill the complainant and a number of members of her family. He went on to continue with the assault, hitting her with his ‘clenched fists’ to her ‘jaw and ribs,’ and also damaged her phone during the course of the assault. 

He also 'threatened to kill her, her mother and her nephew,' the court heard.

The complainant eventually managed to escape and leave Parsley’s house, and was taken to Northern General Hospital by a concerned member of the public ‘who saw her on the street,’ Mr O’Sullivan said. 

He added: "Her jaw was dislodged, bruised and swollen."

The complainant was also found to have sustained bruising to the right side of her ribs. 

She subsequently reported Parsley to the police, and he responded by sending messages to her mother through a fake account in which he threatened to 'take her family away' from her.

Commenting on the impact Parsley’s offending continues to have on her in a victim personal statement read out in court, the complainant said she was ‘frightened’ that Parsley may come to her house, what he ‘would do’ if he did, and said she continued to take his threats seriously.

Parsley was arrested following the latter incident, and during a subsequent search of his property on May 25, 2023 police discovered a ‘cannabis grow of 57 medium-sized plants,’ Mr O’Sullivan told the court. 

Parsley was charged with, and subsequently pleaded guilty to, offences of common assault, making threats to kill, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, damaging property and production of cannabis at an earlier hearing. 

Defending, Rebecca Tanner said Parsley made ‘unhelpful comments’ and had sought to ‘minimise’ his offending behaviour to the author of his pre-sentence report; but added that he had pleaded guilty on ‘full prosecution facts,’ and had also taken other ‘steps to acknowledge his wrong-doing’.

"He knows he must be punished. He clearly lacks a full understanding of his behaviour, he has at least acknowledged he has been in the wrong," Ms Tanner told the court. 

Describing Parsley’s personal circumstances around the time of his offending to the judge, Recorder Geraldine Kelly, Ms Tanner continued: "His use of cocaine and lack of sleep had effectively taken control of him. He describes being in a drug-fuelled fog most of the time when he committed these offences. Your Honour knows from the report, having been remanded into custody he has been drug-free. He has achieved enhanced prisoner status…that demonstrates that when not intoxicated, and in the grips of addiction, he is able to behave in a measured and lawful manner."

Recorder Kelly adjourned sentence for a day to October 3, 2023 to consider sentence, and during a hearing held on that date, she jailed Parsley for four years, 11 months, and granted a restraining order which prohibits Parsley from contacting the complainant indefinitely. 

*Sheffield has a range of domestic abuse services that offer support for women, children, young people, and men who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Call the free Sheffield Domestic Abuse Helpline for local support and information Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm: 0808 808 2241.

You can also email [email protected]