A care home chef who broke his estranged partner’s nose after a drunken Christmas work party said ‘when they arrive wake me up’ when he was told the police were on the way.

Vytautas Jankauskas, 31, had drunk five pints and ‘five to seven’ glasses of anise liqueur Sambuca at the festive bash – and claimed to have no memory of attacking the mother of his children.

When police showed him pictures of the injuries he had caused, Jankauskas said: “I hope it wasn’t me.”

Prosecuting, Robert Lindsey told Oxford Crown Court that the defendant and his victim were estranged but still living together with their children in the mortgaged family home in Banbury.

She had taken him to his work Christmas part on the evening of Friday, December 16, the court heard.

Having received a number of drunken texts from him as the night wore on, she asked him not to return to the family home after the party. “When he gets drunk he can get aggressive,” Mr Lindsey said of the woman’s reasoning.

Her request was ignored and Jankauskas let himself into the house at around 12.30am on December 17.

When she asked him to leave he responded by calling her a vile name and kicking her in the chest, causing her to fall to the floor.

He repeated the offensive slur then punched her in the face. She began to cry for help but Jankauskas called her a ‘stupid ****’ and kicked her in the jaw.

Mr Lindsey said: “When she told the defendant she was going to call the police he replied: ‘When they arrive wake me up.’ He then went upstairs and passed out on a bed.”

Police officers arrived at around 1.45am. They were forced to use pepper spray and ‘restraining techniques’ to get him under control when he came to.

Having slept off the effects of the alcohol in the police station, he was interviewed and claimed to have no recollection of the attack.

The woman, who suffered a broken nose, said in her victim personal statement that ‘Vy’ had ‘no off switch’ when he was drinking. She wanted him to ‘have some education around drugs and alcohol’.

Jankauskas, who gave an address in Beauchamp Lane, Oxford, when he was before the magistrates’ court last month, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm.

In a letter to the judge, read by defence barrister Richard Davies, Jankauskas described the assault as ‘disgusting’. “What I have done is awful and it’s definitely the biggest regret of my life,” he said. He had ‘cut alcohol intake to zero’ as a result.

Mr Davies said his client was remorseful and ashamed. The care home chef had been in the UK for 10 years and had no previous convictions. He was a ‘good father’, he said.

Sentencing him to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years, Judge Maria Lamb told Jankauskas: “The way in which you behaved towards your former partner on December 17 last year was utterly despicable.”

She imposed a five year restraining order limiting contact with his victim. He must abide by a 90 alcohol abstinence requirement, attend the Building Better Relationships probation service course and pay £425 in costs.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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