Scarborough man jailed after terrorising ex-partner with carving knife

Richard Hesketh, 37, who was drunk and on drugs, pointed the six-inch blade within an inch of the victim’s face and told her: “I’m going to kill you.”

He had turned up at her house in a drunken and drug-induced rage after drinking three bottles of wine and taking cocaine, York Crown Court heard.

The victim said she feared she was going to die as Hesketh pointed the silver kitchen knife at her and issued the dire threat, said prosecutor Anne Richardson.

She said Hesketh and the woman had been in a relationship for 18 years but split up in 2018 due to his drug use and mental-health problems.

“(The victim) said he would go wild and become someone she didn’t recognise,” added Ms Richardson.

Despite splitting up, they remained friends even when Hesketh started an “on-off” relationship with another woman.

He moved back in with the victim in February because he had nowhere else to stay but they were no longer romantically involved.

But Hesketh, an HGV mechanic from Eastfield, started “acting strangely” again and told the victim he had been snooping on another former partner.

In early March, the named victim asked him to move out of her house.

This made him “bitter” towards her, but he still asked to borrow money and tried to “emotionally blackmail” her.

On March 17, she received a text from Hesketh who said he had left the other woman again and wanted money to go to London.

She refused, believing he would spend the money on drugs.

“He sent a message about ending his life,” added Ms Richardson.

“He said he would go out with fireworks. He said he was going out hunting and would go for everyone and needed knives.”

Later that day, Hesketh rang the victim while she was at her mother’s house, demanding to know where she was.

She drove home but on the way she had to stop the car and saw Hesketh driving towards her in a Ford Mondeo.

“He got out and walked to the passenger side of her car,” said Ms Richardson.

The victim wound the window down, whereupon Hesketh leant into her car, locked the passenger door from the inside and began screaming at her.

The terrified victim pleaded with him to leave and he did, but when she arrived at her home and parked her car on the drive, Hesketh’s Mondeo was there.

He got into her car and sat down on the passenger seat where he pulled out the knife.

“She recognised it as a knife from (her) kitchen, meaning he must have entered her property earlier,” said Ms Richardson.

“He held the blade about an inch from her face and shouted at her.

"She was terrified and thinking that any moment she could be stabbed.

"She had visions of him stabbing her in the stomach. (With) the knife still pointed at her, he said, ‘I’m going to kill you’.”

Hesketh then ordered the woman to “get out of the car” but when she did, he came running after her, pointing the knife at her again and screaming: “Get in the house.”

“She was terrified,” added Ms Richardson.

“She ran into the street and called police. She told him what she was doing and he ran back to the car and left the area.”

Police arrived on the scene in minutes and went looking for Hesketh, who returned to the victim’s address about 15 minutes later, “stumbled” into her garden and began shouting at her through the letterbox, asking her to open the door.

Police arrived at the house, but Hesketh had seemingly disappeared.

They searched the Scarborough address and found his black jumper and hat and the carving knife which he had dumped in the street.

He was found nearby where an officer drew his Taser gun before arresting him.

Hesketh, of Dale Edge, was charged with affray and carrying a blade. He admitted both offences and appeared for sentence on May 26.

The victim said she was “in genuine fear for my life when (Hesketh) pointed a knife at me and told me he was going to kill me”.

She added: “I’ve always tried to help Richard and can’t understand why he would do this.”

Hesketh had three previous convictions including one for being drunk in charge of a vehicle, but nothing of a similar nature and the victim said he had never behaved like that to her in the past.

Neil Cutte, mitigating, said Hesketh had a long-standing drink and drug problem and mental-health issues, and that his behaviour was out of character.

Judge Simon Hickey told Hesketh he had “absolutely terrified” the victim and that he clearly had a drink problem.

Hesketh was jailed for 12 months and slapped with a five-year restraining order banning him from going anywhere near the victim’s home.