'Laughing' Leeds thug stamped on woman's head five times as her young daughter watched in horror

Maurice Miller told the youngster as he left the house: “That’s what she gets”. The girl then frantically put her blood-soaked mother in the recovery position.

The 36-year-old also lied about having schizophrenia to excuse his vile behaviour, and then claimed the woman tried to attack him with two knives first, Leeds Crown Court was told.

He was given an extended eight-year jail term this week.

In a heart-felt impact statement read out to the court by the victim, she said: “I never blamed you for brutally attacking me in front of my child, I blamed your schizophrenia but I found out you made that up.

"I wish you get what you deserve. I hate you for beating me black and blue and lying to justify what you did to me that night.

"I can never forgive you. I’m in constant pain. You have taken so much from me, my confidence and my daughter’s childhood. That one night has changed mine and my family’s lives forever.”

Miller, of Tempest Road, Holbeck, has previous convictions for making threats to kill police officers, harassment of a former partner and possession of an offensive weapon.

Prosecutor Andrew Petterson said Miller had been in a relationship with the victim of his latest attack for around 17 months. Although he had never been violent towards her before, he would often become jealous and make threats.

On December 29 last year, Miller, the woman and her daughter had been out for the evening and at some point he accused the woman of cheating on him.

Fed-up of the accusations, the woman replied: “Yeah, whatever.” But Miller’s anger spilled over when they got to her home in Oulton, with the daughter first hearing the commotion from the bedroom.

When she walked in, she saw Miller stamp on the woman’s head up to five times. The woman needed surgery on a broken jaw and had plates inserted.

Mitigating, Nicholas Parsons said: “He does not accept that he revelled in this but does accept the scope and nature of the attack.”

He said that Miller is a father of four, and works as a roofer, who often turns to alcohol because of work pressures.

Mr Parson’s added: “He does not agree with everything said about him, but there are aspects of his conduct that he genuinely can’t remember. He knows what he did was serious, he has that insight at the very least.”

The judge, Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC, said Miller’s initial claims that the woman tried to attack him first were not accepted by the Crown, and later dropped, but continued to claim his version of events to the probation service.

But he added: “There is clear evidence that you were smiling and laughing at the girl as she remonstrated with you for the injuries you caused to her mum.

"In my view this was a sustained and brutal assault. You have shown little or no remorse in my judgement.”

Miller’s sentence is made up of five years’ jail, and three years’ extended licence period. He was also given a 10-year restraining order to keep him away from the woman and her daughter.