Man jailed after shoving thumbs into ex-girlfriend's eyes because she dumped him

Warning: This article contains discussion of violence, which some readers may find distressing.

A man was jailed after he brutally attacked his ex-girlfriend because she dumped him.

Layton Bowman strangled, threatened with a knife and shoved his thumbs into the eyes of his victim when she’d told him she wanted to end the relationship.

Mitigating, Steve Hennessy said it’s ‘something of a blessing’ that she was ‘not seriously injured’.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how the woman was staying with a friend after the break-up on 9 May last year.

“The following day, he sent an Instagram message saying ‘watch’. He banged on the door until she opened it. He asked who was in the house, before calling her a ‘s**g’,” prosecutor Alison Whalley said.

Bowman falsely accused her of cheating during their relationship, as he went on to assault her more than once.

Bowman pleaded guilty to a number of offences (Getty Stock Images)

“He pushed her face with his right fist, entering the home. He began smoking marijuana in the kitchen, which the victim said appeared to calm him down,” Whalley continued.

“However, he soon became upset again. He said he’d beat her ‘black and blue’. He poked his thumbs into the corners of her eyes.”

The man is then said to have told her to order a taxi, and they left together while he asked if she'd ‘been sleeping with taxi drivers’.

The court was told how Bowman then returned to the victim’s address on 11 May and assaulted the woman again.

This led to his arrest, with Staffordshire Police also finding cannabis in his possession.

It’s reported that he spat at a police officer, and when he was taken into custody, he damaged a cell by urinating over it.

He was sentenced to nine months but released immediately due to time already spent on remand (Staffordshire Police)

On Monday (20 October), Bowman pleaded guilty to a string of charges:

· Assault a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm

· Intentional strangulation

· Threatening a person with an offensive weapon / bladed article / corrosive substance in a private place

· Common assault

· Assault by beating of an emergency worker

· Possession of a controlled drug of class B – cannabis

· Two counts of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000.

He was given a nine-month prison sentence, but having been in custody since 13 May 2024, was released immediately.

Recorder Robert Smith said: “Your victim was unfortunate enough to be in a relationship with you. You did not take the break-up well. When she opened the door, you immediately attacked her and insulted her.

“You attempted to threaten, intimidate and control a vulnerable young woman. You behaved as a bully. You were absolutely vile to her. "If you do not change your ways, you will spend the rest of your adult life behind bars.”