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

A drunk hulk weighing 25 stone has been jailed after crushing his girlfriend with a giant ‘belly’ in a terrifying beating in their hotel room.

Sean Mellin, 40, left five-foot-tall Charlotte Marsden fearing she might die after he used her overweight body to pin her to the ground, then told her: ‘You’re not going anywhere’ so that she was out of breath.

Mellin also choked, punched and kicked the 32-year-old in the hotel room during a drink-and-drug fueled rampage in what a judge described as a “night out.” ‘intimidation and brutality’.

Victim Marsden said the former courier looked like a ‘demon with a big belly’ as he used his massive bulk to subdue her as they stayed 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 causing bodily harm and strangulation.

The victim clad only in a towel was only able to escape after Mellin fell asleep following the assault. She suffered bruises to her back, throat, legs, behind her 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’s stronger than me and knew I was afraid of him.

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

She added: “The fact that he choked me was horrible, he squeezed and dug his fingers into my nose. It meant I couldn’t breathe. I could only beg him with my eyes to stop. . I thought I was going to die. He only calmed down when I started to talk nice to him. When I was in the bathroom being sick, he said “you’re pretending, you’re a fucking fake bitch”.’

“I felt degraded, like a thug. I thought I would never see my nephew again. He knew my nephew and I had a close relationship, so he used it against me. When I finally left I was hysterical, I was a wreck. It was someone else that night. I had to stay with other people because I thought he was going to kill me on the way out. I haven’t missed it since he left.

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

She said: “I met him when I was 30, I was vulnerable and had an eating disorder and was a mess. He harassed me and belittled me because I had low self-confidence and he always told me that he had fucked. However, I gained confidence and he knew I was trying to leave him before that, and as a result he became angrier than ever.

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

Prosecuting Mark Pritchard said: “Things were going well initially but an argument broke out between them and that’s when things started to go wrong.”

“The defendant grabbed the complainant by the throat with both hands and held her so long that she vomited. When she ran to the bathroom to be sick, the defendant accused her of pretending.

“He then grabbed her by the hair and kicked her in the face. He also smashed her head against the walls around the room several times. He then held her to the ground with his body weight, suffocating her. She said she couldn’t breathe, but he said you weren’t going anywhere. Then, in a change of heart, he said, let’s settle down, please don’t leave me.

“Later, while the couple were sleeping, the complainant woke up and tried to gather her clothes to escape, but she couldn’t find them. When the accused woke up, the complainant pretended to walk to the bathroom.

‘The defendant tried to grab her but missed, and she sat on the toilet and pretended to pee. Standing at the door, the accused shouted, “Where’s your pee? I’ll kill you if you don’t pee now.” Then he jumped on her and smashed her head against the back of the toilet.

“The complainant left the room once the accused fell asleep. She was wearing only a towel when she called the police. She suffered bruising to her back, throat, legs, behind her ears and face. The accused was later arrested and denied the offenses in an interview. He has remained in detention since his arrest.

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

During sentencing, Judge M. Recorder Imran Shafi KC told Mellin, “That relationship was punctuated with violence and it all came to a head on August 22 last year.”

“You showed no remorse or concern for your then partner, even accusing him of pretending to be ill after strangling her.

“Your behavior that day was beyond shame, you belittled, bullied and brutalized your partner. You took pleasure in humiliating and hurting her, you were obviously stronger than her and you made sure she knew it. She sincerely believed that she was going to die that night by your hand. All of this and you’ve shown no remorse.

In mitigation, Mellin’s lawyer, Clare Ashcroft, said: ‘He disagrees with some of what Ms Marsden said in her statement, although he accepts that her behavior was inexcusable and that he feels remorse.

‘This completely volatile relationship, it was clearly a toxic relationship. The offense took place during a period when the couple were staying in a hotel room. Both parties had been drinking and had left the room to take drugs at various points during the evening. This added fuel to the volatility already present in the relationship.