A WOMAN was left with a scar after a garage owner headbutted her during a heated argument.
Matthew Jeffreys, who owns two garages, has been found guilty of actual bodily harm after headbutting her so hard that she was left bleeding heavily.
He attacked the woman, who he was having an affair with, at her home in Malvern after spending the day pheasant shooting.
The pair had been having a tense exchange over text in the hours prior, with the victim telling Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (June 9) that she felt Jeffreys was using her as a “commodity” and was frustrated that he had arrived at her house later than expected.
The 43-year-old, of Windmill Lane, Stoulton, said his victim had been attempting to “goad” him by sending him screenshots of a text conversation she had with another man and saying that “he wouldn’t treat me like this”.
Jeffreys claimed that the woman had been “jealous” of another woman he had employed at his garage.
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The argument escalated after he arrived at the house, with the woman saying: “What if I tell your wife about us then?”
He then lost his temper and headbutted her.
“He just flew at me,” the victim told the court.
“Instantly, I felt the blood running down my head and I’m like ‘what have you done, what have you done?’.”
She said she had attempted to flee to the bathroom but that Jeffreys had followed her and pinned her down by her wrists.
The court was shown images of a bloody gash on the woman’s head, as well as a photo of bruising to her wrists.
She said Jeffreys later pulled her hair as she attempted to run from the house.
Told his victim to say it was an accident
An audio recording was played to the court, in which Jeffreys’ told the ambulance operator that the woman had fallen over and injured her head.
The woman told the court that before this, Jeffreys had snatched her phone away and said he would only call for medical help if she agreed to say she had fallen over.
Meanwhile, in court, he claimed that they had clashed heads as he tried to restrain her from hitting him. The woman denied ever hitting him.
In a video recorded by Jeffreys, the victim could be heard saying: “I’m scared of you, please leave.”
He had also told her not to go to the police, fearing that the affair would become public.
Attempt to clean up scene
Police eventually did arrive at the scene, where they found blood on the walls and door handle, and wet stains, where they believed someone had tried to clean up the blood.
Jeffreys admitted he had tried to clean the blood but told the court he was worried about the woman’s young daughter emerging from her bedroom and seeing the scene.
After around 30 minutes of deliberation, magistrates said they were satisfied that Jeffreys’ actions had not been self-defence and found him guilty.
He is due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on July 28 for sentencing.
