A guy who threw bags of dog waste at his girlfriend and attacked her with a shovel has been sentenced to ten months in prison.
In February 2022, Kirsty Burrows was being brutally attacked by Jake Shaw, 30, who was only stopped when her dog ‘launched’ to her defense.
According to testimony given in court, the victim was serving her son breakfast at her St. Helens home when Shaw suddenly hit her in the head.
More shovel strikes were delivered to Ms. Burrows’ arms and legs as she attempted to “shield herself.”
Shaw wouldn’t give her the car keys when she went to drop her kids off at school until she removed bags of dog waste from the driveway.
When she did so, Shaw ‘proceeded to throw the bags of faeces at her’.
Ms Burrows suffered swelling to the back of her head and bruises to her arms and legs as a result of the initial assault.
But later that day at 9pm, she was upstairs in bed when he knocked at the front door and asked if he could stay the night.
Around 20 minutes later, Shaw entered her bedroom and began subjecting her to a second assault.
He sat on her legs ‘so she could not move’ before hitting her twice to the chest and once to her left side, causing bruising.
Further punches then connected with the back of her head before he sat on her again and suffocated her by placing a pillow over her face.
Shaw then placed his hands over Ms Burrows’ face, leaving her ‘unable to breathe’.
Domestic abuse helpline
If you are in immediate danger call 999. If you cannot talk, dial 55 and the operator will respond.
For emotional support, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. Alternatively, for practical and emotional support, please contact Women’s Aid Live Chat 10am – 6pm seven days a week.
You can also reach the National Centre for Domestic Violence on 0800 270 9070 or text NCDV to 60777.
For free and confidential advice and support for women in London affected by abuse, you can call Solace on 0808 802 5565 or email advice@solacewomensaid.org.
Male victims of domestic abuse can call 01823 334244 to speak to ManKind, an initiative available for male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence across the UK as well as their friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues and employers.
Alternatively, the Men’s Advice Line can be reached at 0808 8010327, or emailed at info@mensadviceline.org.uk.
She punched him back and managed to break free, and he told her: ‘I’m going to get you done for assault.’
When she tried to leave for her mum’s house, Shaw picked up a ‘combat knife’ and stated: ‘If you leave me, I’m going to kill myself.’
He grabbed Ms Burrows once more, sparking her dog to ‘launch’ itself at him in a bid to protect her. This resulted in the blade making contact with his girlfriend, causing a cut and bruising.
Shaw then grabbed the pet by the throat, pushed it to the floor and stamped on its neck. Ms Burrows was able to escape to her mother’s while he was fighting with the dog.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Burrows said she had since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers from panic attacks and nightmares. She said she has been left ‘feeling worthless’, adding: ‘I feel like my life is rubbish at the moment.
‘I don’t feel like me. I feel like what happened to me is never going to leave me.’
Shaw, from Mirfield, West Yorkshire, had five previous convictions for eight offences, including being jailed for 18 weeks in 2019 for battery against Ms Burrows.
His defence counsel told the court he denies using the spade during his attack, but ‘accepts his actions were not acceptable and takes responsibility for those actions’.
Shaw admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 10 months and handed a five-year restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Burrows.
Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb said: ‘Offences of domestic violence involve a breach of the trust of an intimate relationship. I have concluded that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by an immediate term of custody.’