John Gizzi was jailed for four years and 11 months after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour towards Natasha Farah and to intentional strangulation of her sister. Natasha Farah suffered severe brain damage after a suspected suicide attempt, and Judge Mills told Mold Crown Court the case was one of the worst coercive control cases the court had seen.
Judge Mills at Mold Crown Court
Gizzi, 55, from St Asaph, Denbighshire, was sentenced after the court heard how the abuse unfolded. Judge Mills said he subjected Natasha Farah to appalling behaviour and used dreadful misogynistic language towards her.
The judge said Farah was often seen with bruises, and that Gizzi once assaulted her with a dumbbell. He said the assaults were frequent, and that they happened in front of other people, including her child. Judge Mills also said the abuse took place on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
Natasha Farah and severe brain damage
The case came before the court after Natasha Farah made a suspected suicide attempt that left her with severe brain damage. She was 32 at the time of the case heard by the court, and the sentence now closes the criminal proceedings against Gizzi on the charges he admitted.
The court also heard that a domestic abuse protection order had been sought, but it did not go ahead because Natasha Farah asked the magistrates not to proceed. That left the criminal sentence as the immediate outcome for the abuse described in court.
Farah's family at court
Farah's mother wore a T-shirt reading “Justice for Natasha” and told the court her daughter was “the most beautiful, funniest, kindest soul in the world” and a “smiling devil monster”. She said she would campaign in her daughter's name for longer sentences around coercive and controlling behaviour.
The case leaves one hard question hanging over the record: what led Natasha Farah to ask the magistrates not to proceed with the domestic abuse protection order? That decision changed the route the case took, but not the sentence Gizzi received for the abuse the court described.
