A FLINTSHIRE man who embarked on a campaign of 'terrifying' attacks on his girlfriend has been sent to a Young Offenders Institute.

Carlos Evans, 20, of Dawn Close in Buckley, appeared before Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday, October 13, facing 14 matters.

He pleaded guilty to the following 13 counts on April 11:

  • Five counts of assault by beating
  • Three counts of criminal damage
  • Two counts of threats to kill,
  • Two counts of Actual Bodily Harm (ABH)
  • Assault/ABH of an emergency worker

Evans also initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of GBH with intent, but he was later re-arraigned on that count and pleaded guilty in July.

Karl Scholz, prosecuting, told the court that the defendant had been in a relationship with 24-year-old Ellie Colegate.

It was a relationship which 'frequently turned to violence', Mr Scholz added.

The first matter took place on December 31, 2022, when the couple had gone out for new year's eve. 

Evans was said to have shown 'jealous paranoia' and 'viciousness of tongue' towards Ms Colegate when he accused her of having been talking to another man in a kebab shop. When they returned to her home, he spat in her face and threw a glass at the wall. The next day, he apologised and blamed his actions on 'the drink'.

A couple of weeks later on January 14, 2023, the couple had gone out for drinks in Liverpool and arranged a hotel to stay at that night.

Matters 'took a turn for the worse' when Evans accused of her looking at another man and when they returned to the hotel, the defendant damaged a TV in the hotel room and physically kicked Ms Colegate out of bed.

The hotel proceeded to take £450 out of Ms Colegate's bank account - a sum which was later repaid to her by the defendant's father.  

On January 28, Ms Colegate had been out for a friend's birthday, with the defendant out with friends at another venue.

When she returned home with one of her friends, Evans and Ms Colegate went to the car to talk.

He was said to be in an 'unhappy mood' and proceeded to 'strike' her with the back of his hand across her face and nose, before slamming her head against the car window.

She was 'bleeding profusely' as a result and Evans told her to 'shut the f*** up' before giving her his shirt and a baby wipe in an attempt to clean the blood up.

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The assaults continued and, on February 18, the pair had been out drinking with Evans said to have become 'verbally abusive' towards Ms Colegate. The next day, she called his sister to tell her how upset she was about how 'unpleasant' he had been towards her.

When she returned home, he accused her of lying. They went out for a meal with his parents that night and began arguing with each other. When they returned home, the defendant again hit Ms Colegate with the back of his hand to the face, before kicking her and dragging her by her hair as she screamed for help.

She hit her head during this incident and said she 'felt her head spinning' as Evans continued to 'repeatedly hit her in the head' before telling her he would take her to Buckley common and 'kill her'.

She eventually managed to escape to a neighbour's house, where she hid for a few hours before returning home to find blood on the walls and door frames.

A TV had also been smashed, which the defendant's mother later paid Ms Colegate for.

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In March, the complainant returned home from work to find that Evans had removed his belongings from her home. She later found him walking along the street and he accused her of having been to her ex-boyfriend's house, before smashing her mobile phone and hitting her with the back of his hand.

In that same month, Evans arrived at Ms Colegate's home while drunk. The court heard the defendant's father arrived and told him to leave. However, when the pair went upstairs to talk, Evans proceeded to once again hit her with the back of his hand.

His father had heard the 'commotion' and called the police.

On March 28, Ms Colegate had been at work and had returned home later than usual as she did not finish her shift until 6.30pm. Evans meanwhile was at the pub and had begun to message his partner accusing her of 'being up to no good'.

Ms Colegate returned home and Evans did so later along with a bottle of wine in hand. 

He proceeded to kick her to the stomach until she 'couldn't breathe', before slapping her repeatedly to the face.

Evans dragged his girlfriend downstairs and pushed her into the living room where he kept hitting her and pulled out a 'clump' of her hair.

A table had broken during the incident and Ms Colegate grabbed one of its legs to try and defend herself. But, Evans snatched it away from her and hit her across the head with it.

He punched her to her sides so hard that she 'thought her appendix had burst'.

The next day, Ms Colegate called 101 and they told her to come to the hospital. Evans urged her to tell staff that she had 'been assaulted in Chester'.

Examinations found that the complainant's right kidney was 'no longer where it should be' and had a '4cm gash' on it as a result of the attack.

Both her eye sockets were bruised, as well as both forearms and her abdomen.

She spent three days in hospital before being discharged but still has problems with her kidneys to this day, the court was told, with the right kidney 'still not working'.

Days after she was released, Evans became angry and bit her on the thigh before punching her to the face multiple times, smashing a pint glass over the back of her head and again making threats to kill her.

She then got 'dressed quickly' before attempting to drive away from the house, but Evans managed to block the driveway, smashed the back window by punching it and climbed into the rear seats.

He then told her that they needed to 'get away' for a few days to Llandudno and she was forced to drive along the A55.

During the drive, one of her eyes was so swollen that she had to pull over into a layby.

That was when traffic officers spotted the vehicle and approached it.

Evans told them that Ms Colegate had been attacked by someone else - but North Wales Police were still called to the scene due to the fact that she seemed to have 'extensive injuries'.

She then disclosed it was in fact Evans who had attacked her and he attempted to flea from officers at the scene. When apprehended he spat at an officer and called him a '*****'.

Ms Colegate did not provide a victim personal statement in court and did not wish for a restraining order to be made, the court heard.

Evans was allowed the opportunity, via videolink, to read out a letter to the court.

In it, he stated that he was 'grieving' over the mistakes he had made and that he was 'absolutely disgusted' with himself.

Dafydd Roberts, defending, added that Evans had been diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger's syndrome as a child and that this was 'likely' to mean that he was 'maturing at a slower age' than his physical age of 20.

Recorder Wyn Lloyd Jones said: "It truly makes me sad for me to have to sentence someone so young for so many offences."

He added that the incidents 'must have been terrifying' for Ms Colegate.

Turning to her and Evans' parents in the court, he said: "It must be incredibly difficult. I can't put it into words how the three of them must be feeling right now."

Evans was sentenced to spend six years in a Young Offenders Institute.