Cage fighter jailed after strangling his pregnant girlfriend and attacking their puppy

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A cage fighter has been jailed after strangling his pregnant girlfriend and kicking their puppy during a terror campaign that left the woman scared she would lose her baby.Karl Draper had been with ex-partner Rebecca Smith for three years when many of the horror incidents took place - several while she was pregnant with his unborn child.Following the break-up she then told the police that she had been subjected to verbal and physical abuse at his hands throughout their time together reports the ECHO.Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, described how she had previously "made excuses for his behaviour" and "stayed with him because she loved him", but "kept photographs and recordings" evidencing his numerous assaults.The first such incident came on April 15 2021, when Draper kicked the puppy they had bought only a few days earlier in its side, causing the dog to "yelp in pain".He then grabbed Ms Smith by the throat before punching a hole in their bedroom door.

She however "put it down to the fact that he had been smoking cannabis", and the relationship continued.On another occasion, she confronted the defendant after receiving a picture of him in the company another woman and told him that the relationship was over.Ms Smith then received messages from Draper stating that he was "on top of the heights and was going to kill himself", a reference to the Quarry Green Heights block of flats in Kirkby.She was left "feeling emotionally blackmailed into resuming the relationship" as a result.

Subsequently, during another row on August 2 2021, he put his hands around her throat again and broke items of jewellery before "throwing shampoo all around the living room floor".Ten days later, on August 12, Draper "lost his temper" and "threw