Steroid abusing thug jailed for four years over sickening attack

Drug dealer Brian Holstein, 21, was wielding a blade as he dragged the woman from her bed by her hair, kicked her repeatedly and strangled her following an argument.

The musclebound brute then pulled out clumps of her hair and warned the terrified victim: “You will not be leaving this house until I feel happy that I have tortured you.”

The shocking incident at the house in Scarborough - during which Holstein locked the back door so the victim couldn’t escape - occurred while he was on bail for drug offences including the importation of steroids, possessing cocaine and over £1,000 of cannabis, as well as amphetamine with intent to supply.

He was also caught with 392mg, or 36 doses, of a notorious LSD-type drug called ‘N-Bomb’.

Holstein, of Crown Terrace, Scarborough, admitted false imprisonment and makings threats to kill, and eventually owned up to all the drug offences, including three counts of possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply, possessing over £2,400 in criminal cash and supplying cannabis.

Prosecutor Marie Horbin said the cannabis smoker’s crime spree began in November 2014 when police raided his home and found a large wad of ill-gotten cash and a stash of cocaine, ‘N-Bomb’ and amphetamine.

Holstein was bailed but was arrested again in July 2015, when police found 80g of cannabis and £515 in drug cash at his home.

Yet again he was bailed, only to launch a savage assault on the woman in December 14.

“The victim was sleeping on a mattress and was dragged out of bed by her hair,” said Ms Horbin.

“Holstein had a knife in his other hand as he dragged her into the kitchen. He strangled her three times, slapped her in the face and kicked her in the side and on the knee.

“He threatened her with the knife and said ‘I will kill you then kill myself’.

"He was lunging towards her with the knife and touching her face with it, saying he was going to slash her.

"The victim tried to escape by unlocking the back door, but she was dragged back into the living room by the defendant, who removed the key from the door.

"He used the knife to shred the victim’s new coat and smashed a candle.”

Fearing she was about to die, the victim scrambled upstairs and climbed through a window onto a flat roof outside one of the bedrooms. She remained stranded on the roof until an elderly man in the street heard her screaming for help and called police.

Ms Horbin said the victim suffered bruising to her arms and legs during the attack. Holstein had fled by the time officers arrived, but they later arrested him at his own property, where they heard “crashing and banging” as he tried to escape. They found him outside, soaked in blood, wearing nothing but tracksuit bottoms.

The court heard that Holstein’s bulked-up frame and explosive temper were in part due to the abuse of steroids, which he had imported from Belgium via Birmingham Airport, where the UK Border Force intercepted a large package.

Ms Horbin said Holstein had previous convictions for drug possession and battery, but had hitherto never been convicted of violence against the woman, who had suffered years of physical and verbal abuse at his hands.

The woman said she was so terrified of Holstein she had had to move home since the attack and dared not go into Scarborough town centre in case she bumped into him.

Judge Guy Kearl QC jailed Holstein for four years and made a restraining order, to run indefinitely, which bans him from contacting the victim or going near her home.