Woman ‘felt like she was going to die’ during strangulation

A man will soon learn his fate after being convicted of strangling a woman and pressing a set of car keys to her neck in her Corio home.

A woman was left fearing for her life after a man entered her bedroom and strangled her.

Jason Sheahan, 35, appeared before the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to face charges of assaulting a woman at her property over a phone call she received in the early hours of the morning.

The court heard that Sheahan was picked up from the Corio train station by the victim and taken to her house close by on January 17, 2022.

Out of fear of Sheahan’s “erratic” and inebriated behaviour, the victim asked him to leave the property.

However, Sheahan followed the woman into her bedroom and, at about 3.00am, became enraged when she received a phone call from a “No Caller ID” listing.

Police submitted that Sheahan then asked the woman who was calling her and, when she said she did not know, attempted to take the phone from her.

When the victim rolled onto her stomach to prevent him from doing so, Sheahan put both his hands around her neck and pulled her back towards him.

Picture: iStock

The court heard that the victim “felt like she was going to die”.

Sheahan then took the victim’s car keys from her bag and pointed them at her head. The victim told police she feared he was “going to take her eyes out”.

Sheahan pressed the keys into the victim’s neck and left a red mark.

When the victim escaped to her neighbour’s house to call police, Sheahan took her vehicle and fled the scene before emergency services could attend.

“This has to be jail,” Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said. “This is strangulation, and that is the highest flag for danger. The fact that he was inebriated is never a mitigating factor.”

The court heard that Sheahan has a history of drinking and drug patterns that started from a young age.

He has also been in a number of drunken fights, one of which included being hit in the face with a brick that left him with neurological issues.

Sheahan has accepted the sentencing indication.

The matter will return to the Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 6 April to confirm the sentencing term.

Originally published as Woman ‘felt like she was going to die’ during strangulation