Husband jailed for shooting wife in head with air rifle

A husband has been jailed for more than two years after he shot his wife in the head with an air rifle following a heated row at home.

Lloyd Williams, 35, attacked his partner with the pellet gun and smashed a bottle of Baileys through her car window, leaving her covered in blood.

A court heard Kelly Williams locked herself inside her mother’s car for a cigarette to calm down after her drunk husband became “paranoid” and accused her of planning to have people assault him at their home in Newport, South Wales.

He followed her outside with his .22 air rifle in hand and began firing pellets at the back of the Vauxhall Astra.

Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said: “She then got out of the car to tell his sister, who was also in the house, that he had a gun. She felt something hit her head as he shot her with the air rifle.”

Mrs Williams got back into her vehicle and threatened to call the police, which led to Mr Williams fetching a bottle of Baileys and smashing it through two car windows, covering his wife in glass.

Mr Gobir said: “She was crying hysterically. Her face was covered in blood.”

He said Mrs Williams suffered a cut to the top of her head from the pellet, as well as cuts and grazes to her face and forearm from the glass which required stitches.

The husband tried to flee the scene in another car but was prevented from doing so by neighbours who barricaded his vehicle in with wheelie bins, forcing him to run off on foot.

He was eventually arrested later that evening at the Cross Keys pub on November 11 last year, before pleading guilty to unlawful wounding and criminal damage.

Newport Crown Court heard Williams had six other convictions for violence relating to domestic abuse.

Ben Waters, defending, said Williams was “remorseful” and “ashamed” for his behaviour, which he said stemmed from the couple “consuming intoxicating products” after Mrs Williams’s two children from a previous relationship were taken into care.

Image supplied by CPS of air rifle used by Lloyd Williams to shoot his wife
Image supplied by CPS of air rifle used by Lloyd Williams to shoot his wife

He said Williams was now being treated for “underlying issues of mental health” in prison, where he continues to receive support from his wife Mrs Williams.

Mr Waters said: “His wife knows him much better than anyone else and about his struggles. The two are trying to get through their issues together. She remains a pillar of support.”

Recorder Timothy Brennan QC said: “It is clear to me that you were both drunk and you were paranoid about your relationship with your wife.

“You were concerned she was making plans to harm you.

“You repeatedly shot your gun at the car in which she was sitting. She got out and was struck on the head by another pellet from the same .22 air rifle, and sustained a wound and was bleeding.

“You then went to the car and smashed two windows with a bottle while she was inside.

“She was crying hysterically and was covered in blood.”

Williams, from Newport, was jailed for two years and six months.

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