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Former soldier held knife to wife’s throat
An ex-soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has been jailed for 18 months after assaulting his wife twice and threatening to kill her.
Andrew Fleetwood, of Shirley Avenue, Gomersal, was discharged after suffering a stroke in 2008 and struggled to cope with life outside the army, Leeds Crown Court heard on Monday.
Last July, the 40-year-old confronted his wife about a text message on her mobile phone from another man.
As she held their three-year-old youngest son, he punched her in the face, and continued the attack after she had put the child in another room. She did not report the assault, but told a neighbour, who took photographs of her injuries.
Then, after a night out together in October, Mrs Fleetwood fell asleep on the couch and was woken by her husband punching her in the face, again asking her about a text message on her phone.
He followed her into the kitchen and kicked her in the stomach, and punched and kicked her as she lay on the floor.
He then grabbed a 12 inch knife and held it to her throat.
After she spoke of their children finding her dead, he dropped the knife and phoned the police himself.
Fleetwood pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one count of threatening to kill.
Mitigating, Chloe Fairley said he was distressed by his actions and that what he had seen in the army had affected him deeply. His wife also wrote a letter to the court saying Fleetwood was fundamentally a good man and a good father, and believed he never would have carried out his threat. Recorder Richard Woolfall said it was clear Fleetwood had PTSD but the seriousness of the second assault meant he would have to be jailed.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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