A man who beat up his mother and left her covered in blood told police he had been waiting to “smash” her and that he should have killed her, a court has heard. Last Paradzayi’s mum said her relationship with her son has been characterised by violence and abuse and though she loves him she had now realised he was never going to change.
Swansea Crown Court heard that after being arrested the 31-year-old racially abused and spat at police officers, and called himself a racist. Paradzayi refused to leave his prison cell for the sentencing hearing and sending him down a judge said the defendant was too much of a coward to stand in the dock and face his punishment. The judge described the attack on the victim as “dishonourable and shameful”.
Ryan Bowen, prosecuting, said on the evening of November 15 this year the complainant in the case – Paradzayi’s mother – was in her bedroom at home in the Clase area of Swansea when she noticed her wi-fi stopped working. The prosecutor said the woman went to check the internet router and found the device had been turned off. The defendant, who lived with his mother, was in the property and was “pacing around mumbling and laughing to himself”. The prosecutor said when the complainant asked her son why he had turned the router off the defendant became aggressive and started “forcefully” punching the woman to the face and head. The court heard the woman went to the floor and Paradzayi continued the assault despite his mother “begging” him to stop.
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The prosecutor said when the defendant eventually went to his bedroom his mother was able to run from the flat and call the police. As officers arrived at the scene Paradzayi was throwing his mother’s personal items out of the window. The casualty was taken to Morriston Hospital where doctors found bruising and swelling around both eyes and bruises and cuts to her face including a wound above one eye which had to be closed. Her clothes were covered in blood.
Meanwhile Paradzayi had been arrested at the scene and when searched was found to have a bag of “green vegetable matter” in his pocket which turned out to be cannabis. While being arrested he made a series of racial slurs directed at his mother and said “I’ve been waiting to smash her my life – I should have killed her today”. He also said that if he had to live with his mother again he would kill her, and said that he wanted a judge to be told that.
The court heard that while being held at Swansea Central police station the defendant was heard repeatedly kicking the door of his cell. When a detention officer went to check on him, Paradzayi spat at him through the hatch in his cell door and tried to punch him saying he was a racist and that he didn’t feel safe in the station. The spit landed on the officer’s clothes. The prosecutor said the defendant was subsequently taken for an interview but was “immediately aggressive” and started calling the officers “dirty white nonces” meaning the interview was terminated. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here.
In an impact statement from the defendant’s mother which was read to the court the victim said the relationship with her son was a “rocky” one which was characterised by a history of violence and emotional abuse by her child. She said she had always taken him back into her life following previous incidents with the hope that he would change, and said she was concerned her son would hurt or kill her or set fire to her flat with her inside.
Last Paradzayi, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of cannabis, criminal damage, racially aggravated battery – spitting at the custody officer – and racially aggravated harassment when the case came to be sentenced. The defendant did not attend the hearing having refused to leave his cell in prison. He has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences including multiple assaults of his mother and breaches of a restraining order. The assaults have included Paradzayi throwing a glass dish at his mother’s face, strangling her, and breaking into her home and “subjecting her to violence”. He also had convictions for assaulting a custody officer at Wakefield and Pontefract Juvenile Court, and assaulting an emergency worker.
Judge Huw Rees said he had read the victim’s impact statement in which the mother said she loved her son and was finding it difficult to process what he had done to her. He said in the statement the mother said when her son was not on drugs he was “kind and loving” but that she now realises he was never going to change and she no longer wanted anything to do with him. The judge said Paradzayi had carried out a “dishonourable and shameful” assault on his mother and said he was too much of a “coward” to come to court to face his punishment.
Judge Rees said he was prepared to sentence the defendant in his absence. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Paradzayi was sentenced to 34 months in prison. He will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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