A night out at a comedy club turned to disaster when a drunken bully suddenly “lost it”, grabbed his former girlfriend around her neck and started strangling her as they walked along in the street.
Bad-tempered Ross Kral then turned on and assaulted a “Good Samaritan” who came to the woman’s help and tried to calm the situation down by telling him: “It’s not worth it, mate. Just leave it.”
This allowed the woman to break free and escape back to the comedy club, where staff helped her, Hull Crown Court heard.
Kral, 31, of Kings Road, Swinefleet, near Goole, but recently in custody on remand, admitted offences of intentional strangulation and assaulting the woman, causing actual harm, on September 20. He also admitted assaulting a man, who intervened on the scene.
Marc Luxford, prosecuting, said that Kral and the woman had been in an on-off relationship for about two years but, at the time, they had not been together for about six months. He had bail conditions imposed on August 18 not to contact her but she was not aware of them until September 20.
They agreed to go on a date to the Comedy Lounge in George Street, Hull, and he was “lovely” during it. After they left, Kral at first had his arm around her but he suddenly switched, grabbed her around the throat and dragged her to the ground. He attacked her at the top of some stairs.
He continued to rag her by her hair and pull her clothes. He squeezed her around her throat and told her: “Shut the f*** up.” She kicked him on his leg to try to get him off her. “She tried to get away three separate times,” said Mr Luxford.
“Each time she successfully managed to loosen his grip, he would continue to squeeze her around the neck or pull her hair.” Fortunately, it was at this point that a man came out of a property near the stairs and, acting as a “Good Samaritan”, shouted to Kral, telling him: “It’s not worth it, mate. Just leave it.”
This allowed the woman to break free. “She ran back to the comedy club and was assisted by door staff,” said Mr Luxford. Kral walked up to the man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and punched him on the left side of his face, causing him to stumble backwards.
Kral had drunk eight to 12 alcoholic drinks that evening. He walked off towards Grimston Street but he was found in George Street. The woman suffered marks on her neck and bruises on her arm and forehead.
During police interview, Kral claimed that he had no memory of the previous night and that the last thing that he could remember was being at the comedy club.
He had convictions for five previous offences, including being jailed for one year for wounding in January 2017. That incident involved a single punch causing extremely serious consequences for the victim, including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Kral had been drinking after this and the previous violent incident. “He fully takes responsibility for his actions,” said Mr Hammersley. “He is truly repulsed, in his words, by what he did, regardless of any issues there were in the relationship or anything else.
“He has expressed genuine and sincere remorse and would wish to apologise to her for his behaviour. He realises that the relationship is well and truly over.
“Were it not for him being in drink, this would be likely not to have happened. Plainly, it shows that when he has been drinking, there are problems. He has completely lost it when he has been drunk. There is no excuse for this behaviour.”
Kral was jailed for 16 months and he was given a three-year restraining order.