Jeremy McConnell, the Irish model and reality TV star, has been found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, the actress Stephanie Davis, in an attack that had her fearing for her life on her birthday.
McConnell, from Dublin, attacked Ms Davis at her home in Rainhill, Merseyside, England, on March 10.
The pair began a relationship after appearing on Celebrity Big Brother last year but Ms Davis told Liverpool magistrates’ court that it had been the worst 18 months of her life.
Judge Wendy Lloyd ordered a break in proceedings when McConnell began laughing in the dock after Ms Davis broke down in tears.
Ms Davis told the court that the couple had been out for a meal in Liverpool with friends for her birthday on March 9 and returned to her home. McConnell then went to a local pub with two of their friends.
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She said when he returned to the house at about midnight he was “out of it” and had been taking cocaine. “He was calling me a slag. He said that I was fat, he said that no one was going to want to touch me again,” she said.
She added that McConnell took her phone from her as she tried to call for help, then pushed her and bit her arm. The court was shown photos of a bruise she said was caused by the bite, as well as extensive bruises to her legs and body. Ms Davis said that McConnell left the house but later returned and began kicking doors in an attempt to get in.
“I heard him go over the gate, it was literally like a horror film. I just thought, ‘this is it, he’s going to kill me’,” she said.
She let him in after fearing he would smash the glass patio doors and he followed her upstairs to the bedroom.
“Every time I got up, he got me by the face and threw me down forcefully,” she said.
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He had accused her of having affairs with her pregnant friend and with a fireman who lived near by, she said.
Ms Davis said McConnell left the house but returned again, this time snapping handles off the patio doors to get in. He apologised for his earlier behaviour and threatened to smash a bottle of wine over his own head.
Her mother then arrived, having been called by a friend of Ms Davis. “He went to smash the bottle of wine over his head and that was just when my mum knocked at the door and it was the biggest relief of my life,” Ms Davis said.
She said the couple used to argue about his drug use and said he had spent £180,000 (€198,785) on cocaine last year. McConnell told the court that Ms Davis attacked him after learning he had taken cocaine. He said he pushed her away in self-defence and claimed her injuries were self-inflicted.
McConnell, of Swords, Dublin, pleaded guilty to criminal damage of Ms Davis’s property at an earlier hearing. He will be sentenced on Friday.