Man who 'whipped woman like a dog' in two-day torture jailed

A woman was tortured for 48 hours after moving in with a man she met on Twitter.

David Griffiths, 47, was jailed for 12 years for the attack where he repeatedly strangled and whipped the woman "like a dog".

During the ordeal Griffiths threatened to burn her face with a soldering iron and continued to play "mind games" with her after he "flew into a rage" when they argued about what to watch on television.

The woman was repeatedly whipped, strangled, punched, kicked and stamped upon for two days at a house in Leeds in May.

She was punched more than 50 times in the head, strangled with computer cables and repeatedly hit in the head with the edge of a mobile phone and a mug, causing multiple cuts.

Griffiths cut her wrist with a kitchen knife and whipped her more than 30 times "like a dog" and threw jugs of water over her.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said: "He would make her prepare food for him, saying he was starving, and as soon as she did he threw it against the wall and said 'I'm not going to eat that because you made it'."

Mr Sharp said she also threatened to kill her cat and make her watch as he did it.

At one point she managed to run off by Griffiths caught her and "smashed her against a wall".

She finally managed to escape from the house and raise the alarm at around 10pm on May 10.

A court heard it wasn't possible to tally how many injuries she had suffered because there were so many.

Griffiths was given a 12 year extended sentence after admitting wounding with intent.

Leeds Crown Court, was told the woman had originally moved from Birmingham to Leeds to live with Griffiths after meeting him on Twitter.

When police arrived at Griffith's home, he told officers: "I didn't mean to do it."

He said he had carried out the attack under the influence of large amounts of amphetamines and skunk cannabis.

Simon Batiste, for Griffiths, said his client carried out the attack at a time when he was struggling to cope with his mum's death.

Mr Batiste said Griffith had been using drugs and was suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder.

Recorder Simon Eckersley told Griffiths he was giving him an extended sentence because he believed he posed a risk to the public in the future.