A man has been acquitted of intentionally suffocating his girlfriend during a breakup row.
Che Lee-Cummins, 30, appeared for trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Friday (7 July). Additional charges of stalking and criminal damage were dropped.
Prosecutor Tom Power alleged the defendant had pinned the woman down on a mattress before putting his knee on her neck – causing her to struggle to breathe – on 21 March 2023.
But Lee-Cummins argued that he had pinned her down by her sitting on her legs in self-defence after she started hitting him during an argument and that he had not placed his knee on her neck.
The court heard that there was no evidence of injuries recorded or photographed – by the complainant or the police officers that attended the incident at a house in Chippenham.
The defendant claimed that the woman had become jealous over a comment on Facebook from a female he had previously had sexual relations with, whilst the complainant said the row was over the fact he had taken her phone and wanted access to it after ending the relationship.
The magistrates said they “could not be sure” that Lee-Cummins, of Melksham, intentionally suffocated the complainant and therefore found him not guilty.
