adminan attempted suicide has been jailed indefinitely.
Edmund Bruton (42) from Wembley, said he wanted to “go out causing as much damage as he could” when he drove his Peugeot into the home of former partner Tara Lavery in Caversham, Berkshire.
The jury heard that Bruton texted his former partner minutes before the crash Bruton saying: “I will be waiting for you in hell” and “you could have avoided this if you answered me.”
The impact destroyed the garden brick wall and the front bay window before the car stopped in Mrs Lavery’s front room. It caused £62 000 of damage to the house.
He was found guilty of damaging property with intent to endanger life and dangerous driving.
He was jailed for a minimum term of seven-and-a-half years and disqualified from driving for life.
In passing sentence Judge Lindsay Burn said Bruton had manipulated the “extreme form of domestic abuse” as a suicide attempt after his six-month relationship with Mrs Lavery came to an end.
Judge Burn said it was merely by chance that no damage was done to the occupants of the house.
He said: “This is a most disturbing and worrying case. On the evidence heard by the jury you were at the end of a relationship with the former partner and the relationship was being ended by her.
“You could not accept that the relationship was over. You became more and more depressed.
“Your ex-partner did everything in her power to help you during this time meeting with you and talking with you.
“Your response to all this was to set out in a meticulously planned way to not only plan your own death but planned to cause serious and endanger the life of your ex-partner and the children.
“This was planned not just over a few hours but over days.
“Your intention was not only to take your own life but to do as much damage and endanger the life of your ex-partner.”
Judge Burn added he did not believe the two puncture wounds in his neck were caused by the impact but instead were self-inflicted before the crash.
He said: “You knew you were going to die before driving in the way you did. But you deliberately drove into her house, knowing that she was inside and you intended to do so in a way that endangered life.”
“It is merely by chance that no more damage was done to the occupants of the house and that their injuries were not more serious or in fact fatal.”
Bruton begged the judge to take in consideration his sick mother who was in the ‘last throes of her life’ and even made reference to the Human Rights Act.
He said he bore his ex-partner no animosity and wished her and the family well.
He said: “I apologise for the pain I have caused Tara and her family and I apologise to her without reservation.” – Daily Mail.
Online Reporter