Abusive man strangles partner to death in front of their infant

Hove Crown Court heard the case of 36-year-old Ian Paton. Paton is being tried for the murder of his partner, 29-year-old Kayleigh Hanks. Paton called 999 to report the death of Hanks after he strangled her to death. Paton claims that he acted in self-defence when Hanks tried to stab him with a knife.

On July 21, 2019, the police responded to a 999 call at 12:33 am. Police arrived at the couple's home in Bexhill, East Sussex to find Kayleigh unresponsive and Paton bloodied. Paton told the police that Kayleigh had attacked him with a knife. In response, he tackled her and restrained her. Paton claimed that Kayleigh became unresponsive as he continued to hold her down. The incident took place while the couple's seven-month-old daughter, Ava, was in the same room.

The prosecution claims that Paton fabricated the attack. Prosecutor Alexandra Healy pointed out that Paton had not called the ambulance when he saw that Kayleigh was unresponsive. Instead, Healy claims, Paton used a knife to cut himself to lay the groundwork for his defence.

Healy informed the court that there were many witnesses who could testify the abuse doled out by Paton on a regular basis. The court heard how on one occasion, Paton had smashed Kayleigh's face against the dashboard of the car. On another occasion, the woman was dragged out of the car by her hair, The Sun reported.

Kayleigh's sister, Emma Hanks, testified against Paton in court. Emma recalled the incident where Paton forced Kayleigh to get down on her knees and profess her love for him. Emma informed the court that after being abused by Paton, Kayleigh went down on her knees, joined her hands in a praying posture, and told Paton that he loved her. Emma often witnessed the cruelty Paton directed at Kayleigh.

On July 20, just hours before the incident, the couple and Ava had visited Emma. The couple left Emma's home at around 6:30 pm.

Paton will be retuning to Hove Crown Court as the trial is ongoing.