Woman suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, contusions and bleeding along with a fractured skull after attack by Doncaster deaf man

Jacqui Phillips had stood between Connor Cruickshank and her son Aaron while they argued at the doorstep of her home.

“Connor Cruickshank appeared to be angry at being spoken to and then used both hands to push Miss Phillips in the chest area which caused her to fall backwards and hit her head against the pavement.”

Cruickshank, then 21, who was with his partner, “appeared shocked but then walked away down the street as she lay on the ground.”

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday (Thur) that the victim, who has no recollection of the incident, had to lie unconscious at the scene in Lower House Lane, West Derby, for an hour awaiting an ambulance.

She was taken to the Walton Centre, where she underwent surgery on four occasions. The judge sentencing Cruickshank pointed out: “It was only the skill and dedication of the expert team at the centre of excellence that saved her life.”

Joshua Sanderson-Kirk, prosecuting, said that a CT scan on admission revealed a severe traumatic brain injury, contusions and bleeding along with a fractured skull.

Her condition deteriorated in the ITU and she underwent emergency surgery but as her brain continued to swell she was rushed back for a further operation. She was kept sedated on a ventilator for two weeks and later needed a tracheostomy.

She needed further surgery because of infection and later needed to go back on the operating table to have a metal plate fitted to her skull. She spent two months at the hospital but is still receiving rehabilitation.

In an impact statement Miss Phillips, aged 58, said that her life had changed dramatically on November 27, 2021.

She told how Cruickshank, who had originally been befriended through a Doncaster social group by her son Aaron, who also has hearing problems, had come from a broken home and was desperate.

“We opened our family home to him, we fed him and gave him a roof over his head.”

She said she treated him like one of the family and has been left “feeling betrayed.”

Miss Phillips said she had restricted visiting in hospital because of Covid and had missed her Christmas, her favourite time of the year.

Her skull was left misshapen and she lost half of her hair and her front teeth, destroying her self-confidence and now struggles to hear with her right ear. “I looked like the Elephant Man.”

“I have lost a lot of memories. I feel I have got old before my time and have had to re-learn basics of life.”

She said her son and daughter were helping look after her when she should be looking after them. She and her daughter have horses and worked as “dream team” at a local college and Miss Phillips said she was scared her two horses, which she has been unable to ride since, would not remember her.

The court heard that as result of her terrifying experience she would never take anyone else in need into her home.

Cruickshank lived with the family for three or four years before moving out in 2020 and moving into a flat helped by Miss Phillips and her partner, Leslie Parry.

Twenty-three-year-old Cruickshank, now of Dodsworth Street, Mexborough, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Mr Sanderson-Kirk said that the tragic incident happened after the defendant turned up at the house to return some money he owed and to collect a key. An argument began with Miss Phillips’ son, and his dad, Mr Parry, tried to separate them.

Cruickshank threw a plant pot which smashed and Mr Parry told him to leave but he turned his back on him. Miss Phillips then arrived in her car and seeing the broken pot stood in front of him and told him to leave.

Cheryl Mottram, defending, said that the defendant, who made full admissions to the police, had expressed genuine remorse.

“He said she was always there for him and described her as an ‘auntie.’ It was not his intention to cause anyone any injury, least of all the lady who had opened up her home and taken such good care of him.

“It was a terrible and tragic incident and one that should not have happened,” said Miss Mottram.

The argument had got out of hand and there was a scuffle between the two young men which was probably a sign of immaturity and if the defendant had been more mature he would have simply walked away.

She said that the defendant, who has no previous convictions and is on a building course at college, “acknowledges he owed a lot to the Parry family and it was the last thing he ever wanted to do was to cause them harm or upset.”

His partner, who has cerebral palsy, is expecting their first child and needs his support, added Miss Mottram.

Recorder Tania Griffiths, KC, said that Mr Parry described his partner as beautiful and “big hearted” and sadly their son told how “he cannot remember the last time she laughed.”

She said the family had been torn apart and she could see the effects “etched on their faces”.

“The family feel devastated and betrayed by your actions.”

Jailing him for two years the judge explained that she was bound by sentencing guidelines saying that the range was between one to three years and she had to give him a third reduction because of his early guilty plea.

She told Cruickshank, assisted by a sign language interpreter: “I accept your remorse is genuine and almost instantaneous. It accept it was impulsive, unintended and you regret your actions.

“I have to take into account what the public would think if someone with such a grave injury was not given justice in the sense of seeing the person who did it sent to custody.”

The judge added: “Sometimes we have to accept the consequences of our actions even if unintended.”