A jealous boyfriend
left his girlfriend covered in blood and convinced her top lip had come off when
he bit her during a kiss.
Rhys Culley, of South
Shields, Tyneside, had asked Chanttelle Ward if he loved her before he sank his
teeth into her face during the horrific attack.
Prosecutors said the
23-year-old had been jealous and insecure about what the 18-year-old could get
up to while he was working away when he decided to disfigure her.
Jurors at Newcastle
Crown Court saw pictures of teeth marks in Miss Ward's upper lip after the
attack, during which he smeared her own blood around her face and forced his
tongue in her mouth.
Chanttelle Ward, 18, was left covered in blood and
convinced her top lip had come off when her boyfriend bit her during a
kiss
Smirking: Rhys Culley outside Newcastle Crown Court where
he was found guilty of wounding with intent
Culley, who had been
in a relationship with Miss Ward for more than two years, denied wounding with
intent but was found guilty after a trial.
He will be sentenced
next month and has now been remanded in custody.
Greame Cook,
defending, applied for the shopfitter's bail to be allowed to continue while he
awaits sentence but Miss Recorder Wigin refused.
The judge said: 'The
sentence will inevitably be custody.'
Jurors heard Culley
bit down on the victim's lip with the same force that would be needed to bite
through a 1cm thick piece of rubber.
As well as the
gruesome 'very deep' injury to her mouth, Miss Ward had bruising and scratches
to her head and body after the attack, which started after a row about
Facebook.
Chanttelle Ward, who was left disfigured following a
horrific attack when her boyfriend Rhys Culley sank his teeth into her face,
leaving her convinced he had bitten her upper lip off
Miss Ward told jurors
during the trial Culley had tried to kiss her and asked her if she still loved
him before the bite.
She said: 'He put his
whole mouth around my lips and pulled, I thought that my whole lip had come off.
There was blood everywhere.'
The court heard
trouble had flared at Miss Ward's home after a night out, when he chased her
from room to room and attacked her.
Prosecutor Emma
Dowling said Culley kicked and punched Miss Ward, pulled her hair, threw her
into furniture and threw things at her before finally launching the frenzied
facial attack.
The attack happened
on February 22 this year, after the young couple had been out at the County
Public House in South Shields.
Miss Ward suffered not only the injuries to her mouth, but
bruising to her arms and body, a scratch to her left breast and bruising of the
face and ear
Jurors heard Culley, of South Shields, Tyneside, bit down
on the victim's lip with the same force that would be needed to bite through a
1cm thick piece of rubber
They had been
celebrating Miss Ward's mother's birthday and at about 10.30pm Miss Ward, the
defendant and her aunt Susan Stewart shared a taxi home, dropping her aunt off
first.
When the defendant
and his girlfriend got back to her house, the mood of the night changed. The
defendant brought up a conversation that his girlfriend had had with another man
on Facebook earlier in the month.
The defendant then
took Miss Ward's phone off her in a bid to look through her Facebook
messages.
After Culley had bitten his victim, he 'rubbed his face in
hers, smearing the blood across her face and then he stuck his tongue into her
mouth
The court heard how
when he found that the messages were no longer there he became angry and started
to shout at Miss Ward accusing her of having something to hide.
At this point, Miss
Ward told the court, she realised that something was wrong and that this wasn't
a 'normal' argument for the pair, who had been together for almost two and a
half years.
She became scared and
lifted her phone to call the defendant's mother to ask her to come and get
him.
But Culley is said to
have taken the phone from his victim, he also locked the doors so that she
couldn't escape.
Later, when her phone
was left unattended she made an emergency call but Culley again took the phone
from her.
Miss Dowling said
that after Culley had bitten his victim, he 'rubbed his face in hers, smearing
the blood across her face and then he stuck his tongue into her
mouth'.
'When the police
arrived they saw that they both had blood on them and over their
faces.'
Culley was arrested
and Miss Ward was taken to hospital to have her injuries examined.
She suffered not only
the injuries to her mouth, but bruising to her arms and body, a scratch to her
left breast and bruising of the face and ear.
During his evidence
Culley said he did not mean to harm his 'beautiful' girlfriend, who he knew he
was lucky to have.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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