Abusive ex who threatened to kill woman is jailed

41-year-old sent to prison for 18 months

Report from BBC Isle of Man

A man who went snooping around his ex-partner's home, and threatened to shoot her dead, has been jailed.

Nedyalko Marinov entered the woman's Douglas home on 27 June, breaking a restraining order.

The Bulgarian national later told police: "Believe me, I kill her one day with gun."

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to breaching the restraining order, and making a threat to kill, and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

Douglas Courthouse heard how the woman was alerted to Marinov's trespassing by an app on her phone activated by a camera in her living room.

When arrested he claimed he had gone into the home to get water for his caravan and use the toilet.

He already had a conviction for common assault against the woman from 2020 when he was handed the restraining order, on 23 June, for harassing the woman between 1 May and 16 June.

She called police after the intrusion at her home four days later.

Investigations also showed CCTV of Marinov, who had been living in a caravan in a car park close to her address on Cronk-y-Berry Avenue, in that street on the same day, the court was told.

In a statement to police the victim said it had made her "more scared" of him.

Marinov had previously told her he would kill her and bury her in the back garden and, while she had not thought it to be true at the time, she now believed he could carry out the threat, she added.

His defence advocate argued he had been drinking and had taken anti-depressants at time of the police interview and had retracted the threat three minutes after making it.

His recent offending had been over a "very short timeframe" she added.

Jailing Marinov, Deemster Graeme Cook said he could not see any reason to suspend the sentence.

The deemster also revoked the existing restraining order and imposed a fresh one banning him from entering Cronk-y-Berry Avenue or making any contact with his ex-partner except via legal letters in relation to their child.