A Co Wicklow man told his girlfriend he was “coming to cut her head off” following an assault in a Belfast hotel room, a court heard on Tuesday.
Joe O’Connor, 44, received a four-month suspended sentence for attacking the woman and then sending a series of “nasty” messages once she had left their accommodation.
Prosecutors said in one call he warned: “If I was you I would hide.”
O’Connor, of Strand Street in Wicklow, was convicted of common assault and threatening communications offences.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard an argument developed after the couple returned to the city centre Clayton Hotel in the early hours of March 31.
A Crown lawyer said O’Connor began throwing items about their room and told the woman to get out.
“She took her phone and called a friend for help, at which point he grabbed her by the hair and arm,” the prosecutor said.
After the victim left the room she received a total of 87 calls and texts from O’Connor.
One of the messages stated: “I’m coming to cut your head off.”
O’Connor was arrested at the hotel and later told police that he could not remember what had happened.
Defence solicitor Feargal MacElhatton told the court that the couple had been in a relationship which ended following the “unfortunate and unseemly incident”.
Setting out his client’s long-term struggle with alcohol issues, Mr MacElhatton argued that the guilty pleas were a sign of remorse.
Deputy District Judge John Connolly sentenced O’Connor to four months custody, suspended for 12 months.
Mr Connolly said: “It’s a serious act of violence against a young woman, and the messages were particularly nasty.”