Woman beaten and strangled by jailed ex-boyfriend says harrowing abuse 'changed my life'
A woman who was beaten and strangled by her now jailed former boyfriend - who “tried to break” her - said the harrowing abuse “changed my life”.
But Tracey Louise is now able to move on after woman beater Michael Page was locked up for four years following his nine-month campaign of terrifying attacks last year.
Tracey attended Southampton Crown Court and looked her tormentor in the eye as he was taken down to begin his term behind bars in a fitting moment of closure.
Page, 40, of Bowes Hill, Rowlands Castle, was found guilty of two counts of non-fatal strangulation, two counts of assault by beating and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a trial. The domestic abuser, formerly of Southsea, was also handed a 10-year retraining order.
Tracey said the frightening level of abuse could have killed her, with her left seriously ill on one occasion. “I needed CPR after my body had given up after 11 hours of being beaten and strangled. When the police arrived and arrested him he was taking a nap on my bed,” she said.
The domestic violence survivor said the sentence marks the “end of a nine-month journey that changed my life”, though Page showed “absolutely no remorse” during the trial and even fell asleep during proceedings at one point, she said.
Recalling her appearance in court giving evidence, she said: “While I stood on the stand, he rolled his eyes and yawned so I could see it — and then asked the judge for a lighter sentence because he wrote a letter for the judge and because of his job. Not because he was sorry. But none of that matters now.
“When he was taken down, even his own barrister came over to me and bowed his head in respect for what I had endured. That moment will stay with me forever.
“I could never have stood there without the people who filled that courtroom, the messages, the encouragement, and the love I’ve been shown over the last nine months. When I felt like I had nothing left, you carried me.
“Justice was done. And if there is one thing I want to say, it’s this: You tried to break me. You tried to silence me.
“But I stood in court, looked you in the eye, and you were the one taken away in handcuffs. That was the last moment you will ever have power over my life.”
His actions left three people injured and caused massive disruption in and around the key city road.
On that occasion in January 2023 he was jailed for 14 months for dangerous driving and other driving offences - with his actions put down to his struggles when going through a break-up. However, it was heard in court at the time that Page had undergone counselling and was making “positive changes” following the incident.
But unhinged Page slipped back into criminal ways in his subsequent relationship with Tracey and is now back in jail.