Man is jailed for assaulting his five-foot girlfriend by crushing her

Drunken hulk, 40, who weighs 25 stone, is jailed for three years after assaulting his tiny five-foot girlfriend by crushing her under his enormous belly in brutal Travelodge room attack

• Sean Mellin strangled, punched and kicked his partner during a drug binge

A drunken hulk weighing 25 stone has been jailed after he crushed his tiny girlfriend with a giant ‘bellyflop’ during a terrifying beating in their hotel room.

Sean Mellin, 40, left five-foot-tall Charlotte Marsden fearing she would die after he used his overweight frame to pin her to the floor then told her: ‘You’re not going anywhere’ as she lay gasping for air.

Mellin also strangled, punched and kicked the 32-year-old around the hotel room during a drink and drug fuelled rampage in what a judge described as a ‘night of bullying and brutalising.’

The former courier was said by the victim Marsden to be like a ‘demon with a big belly’ as he used his massive bulk to overpower her as they stayed over at a Travelodge in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Mellin who lives in Bolton was jailed for three years after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm and strangulation. 

Sean Mellin, 40, was jailed for three years for assaulting and strangling five-foot-tall Charlotte Marsden during a drink and drug fuelled rampage

A court heard how the 25-stone man was like a ‘demon with a big belly’ as he used his massive bulk to overpower Ms Marsden as they stayed over at a Travelodge in Bolton, Greater Manchester

The victim dressed in only a towel was only able to escape after Mellin fell asleep following the assault. She sustained bruises to her back, throat, legs, back of ears and face in the incident. 

In a statement to police Ms Marsden said: ‘He’s big and broad, and he’s got a big belly. He knows he is stronger than me and knew that I was frightened of him.

‘I couldn’t breathe when he was on top of me. I had a vision of myself lying dead on the bed in only my pink hoodie. I thought I was going to end up like a cabbage. He was like a monster, like a demon. He was not all there behind his eyes.’

She added: ‘Him strangling me was awful, he squeezed and pushed his fingers into my nose. This meant I couldn’t breathe. I could only plead with my eyes for him to stop. I thought I was going to die. He only calmed down when I started to sweet talk him. When I was on the toilet being sick, he said “you’re faking it, you f*****g false b***h”.’

‘I felt degraded, like a lowlife. I thought I would never see my nephew again. He knew that my nephew and I had a close relationship, so he used that against me. When I eventually left I was hysterical, I was a wreck. He was somebody else that night. I had to stay at other people’s houses because I thought he was going to kill me when he got out. I have not missed him since he’s been gone.’ 

The pair met during the first lockdown in 2020 and according to Miss Marsden he initially ‘seemed like a nice guy ‘ but the relationship quickly became toxic and as Covid restrictions tightened then victim described feeling ‘trapped with him.’

She said: ‘I met him when I was 30, I was vulnerable and had an eating disorder and I was a mess. He would bully and belittle me because I had poor self-confidence and he always told me he had been sh*gging around. However, I grew in confidence, and he knew I was trying to leave him before this, and as a result he became angrier than ever.’

The attack occurred in August last year after Mellin booked himself and Miss Marsden for five nights at their local Travel Lodge so he could go on a drink and drugs binge away from home.

In a statement to police Ms Marsden said: ‘He’s big and broad, and he’s got a big belly. He knows he is stronger than me and knew that I was frightened of him.

Mark Pritchard, prosecuting, said: ‘Things were initially going well, but an argument broke out between them and that is where things started to go wrong.

‘The defendant grabbed the complainant by her throat with both hands and held her so long that she vomited. When she ran to the toilet to be sick, the defendant accused her of faking it.

‘He then grabbed her by the hair and kicked her in the face. He also smashed her head against the walls around the room on a number of occasions. He then held her down on the floor with his bodyweight, suffocating her. She said she couldn’t breathe, but he said you’re not going anywhere. Then in a change of heart he said let’s settle down, please don’t leave me.

‘Later when the pair was asleep, the complainant woke up and tried to get her clothes together to escape, but she couldn’t find them. When the defendant woke up, the complainant pretended to walk to the toilet.

‘The defendant tried to grab her but missed, and she sat on the toilet and pretended to wee. Standing at the door, the defendant shouted, “where is your wee? I am going to kill you if you don’t have a wee now”. Then he jumped on her and smashed her head back on the back of the toilet.

Mark Pritchard, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant grabbed the complainant by her throat with both hands and held her so long that she vomited. When she ran to the toilet to be sick, the defendant accused her of faking it.

‘The complainant left the room once the defendant fell asleep. She was dressed in only a towel as she called the police. She sustained bruises to her back, throat, legs, back of ears and face. The defendant was later arrested and denied the offences in interview. He has remained in custody since his arrest.’

Mellin initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea on the day of trial. He was banned from contacting Ms Marsden and her sister indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order.

In sentencing, the judge Mr Recorder Imran Shafi KC told Mellin: ‘This relationship was punctuated with violence and this all came to a head on the 22nd of August last year.

‘You showed neither remorse nor concern for your then partner, even accusing her of faking being sick after you strangled her.

‘Your behaviour on that day was beyond disgraceful, you belittled, bullied and brutalised your partner. You enjoyed humiliating and hurting her, you were obviously stronger than her, and you made sure she knew it. She genuinely believed that she was going to die that night by your hand. All of this and you showed not a slither of remorse.’

In mitigation, Mellin’s lawyer, Clare Ashcroft, said: ‘He does not agree with some of what Ms Marsden said in her statement although he accepts that his behaviour was inexcusable and he is remorseful for it.

‘This relationship completely volatile, it was plainly a toxic relationship. The offence took place during a period where the couple were staying in a hotel room. Both parties had been drinking and had left the room to take drugs at several points throughout the evening. This added fuel to the volatility already in the relationship.’

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