54 year old Shane Byard from Barry attacked his wife at their home, which left her with black eyes and a split lip and shouted ‘I’m going to burn you alive’
A husband repeatedly punched and kicked his wife during a drunken row before setting the kitchen alight shouting “I am going to burn you alive”.
Shane Byard, who is in his 50’s, from Barry, split his wife’s lip during the vicious assault. She stated she could see the “rage in his eyes”. He prevented her from calling the police and locked the doors of the house to stop her from escaping terrifying her.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard Byard had been married for 3 years at the time of the incident on October 24th last year. On that day they returned home at midnight from the pub and an argument began. Shane Byard 54 from Barry attacked his wife
Prosecutor Ieuan Rees described how Byard lost his temper “for no reason” and without warning used his clenched fist to punch his wife to the face, causing her head to fly backwards. He then punched her a further four times to the face, and the victim described feeling blood pouring from her split bottom lip.
He began screaming at her and calling her names before grabbing a clump of hair and dragging her onto the floor from the sofa while shaking her around. Mr Rees said: “Throughout the whole time she was screaming for him to stop and crying her eyes out.”
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The defendant then kicked the victim in the chest five times while she was on her knees and she pleaded for him to stop but he refused to let up. He then punched her in the face again and to the back of her head.
The defendant then told his wife he was going to kill her and said: “I am going to burn you alive”. It was at this point he started a fire in the kitchen, which left the victim “extremely frightened”.
As a result of the assault, the victim suffered a split lip, a black eye and a bump to the back of her head. In a victim personal statement, she said her “heart was racing” and “trembling”. She said she had “never been so terrified in her whole life” and described the incident as her “worst nightmare”.
Byard, of Barry Road, Barry, later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The court heard he had previous convictions for offences against the person.
In mitigation, Jeffrey Jones said his client had been diagnosed with pulmonary disease but was a father and family man with a good work ethic. He conceded the defendant was drunk at the time of the offence but stated Byard would lose his home if sent to custody immediately so asked for him to be dealt with by a suspended sentence.
Resources for victims of domestic abuse
- If you are in immediate danger please call 999
- If you are a survivor or concerned about someone else, you can contact Live Fear Free twenty-four hours a day on 0808 80 10 800 or 07860 077333 and find more information here: http://gov.wales/live-fear-free
- BAWSO on 0800 7318147 or email [email protected]
- DYN Project on 0808 8010321 or email [email protected]
- UK Women’s Aid support line
- Domestic Abuse Pembrokeshire Support offers a freedom programme on Facebook
- Bright Sky app offers help and advice for people being abused and advice for those who think friends or family are being abused
- National Centre of Domestic Violence app
- The Holly Guard app turns your phone into a personal safety device
- Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
- Break the Silence against Domestic Violence
- Childline on 0800 111
Sentencing, Recorder David Elias QC said: “That assault was absolutely appalling. It involved you repeatedly attacking her in the home you shared. You repeatedly punched her to the face and the head, kicking her, giving her black eyes and causing damage to her lips and scragging her around by her hair.”
Byard was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out a rehabilitation activity requirement for 30 days, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement of 90 days and a curfew for two days. He was made subject to a restraining order indefinitely.