‘Monster’ dancing coach who attacked and strangled associate in resort room on New Year’s Eve after complaining she would not have intercourse with him is jailed for 26 months

A leading dancing coach has been branded a ‘monster’ by his former dance partner after he strangled her in a hotel room following a New Year champagne celebration.

Latin American and ballroom dancing expert Antonio Franchitti, 63, has been jailed for mounting a horrific attack on girlfriend Cheryl Wood after complaining she had not had sex with him.

During the terrifying row at the four-star Club Quarters Hotel in the City of London, Franchitti threw Ms Wood, 46, on the bed and throttled her until she could barely breathe.

The dance coach, a Fellow of the Associated Board of Dance who has travelled the world as a judge and mentor, then dragged her so hard along the floor her face suffered carpet burns.

When she tried to scream for help he put his hand over her mouth, a court was told.

Ms Wood, who suffered serious facial injuries, only managed to escape the couple’s hotel room when she agreed to say she had been mugged.

She was then condemned to travel 250 miles back to Cheshire by train with her attacker before raising the alarm with her mother. 

Her family were so horrified when they saw her they called an ambulance.

At Chester Crown Court, Ms Wood, of Knutsford, Cheshire who has three children from a previous relationship, spoke out against father of one Franchitti as he was jailed for 26 months and issued with a ten-year restraining order.

In a victim impact statement, she told how she feared she would die.

Ms Wood said: ‘I am still struggling to come to terms with why he would do that to me. The monster he became I did not recognise, I was terrified, and I truly believed that I might not survive.

‘The physical injuries I suffered were severe and I am still healing, but the emotional trauma is something that cannot be seen and will take far longer to heal.

‘I have not been able to do the simplest tasks without the need to sit down. I am always exhausted, and I have this constant feeling of being ill.

‘My children have been deeply affected. My eldest daughter, who is 21, and my 18-year-old son have struggled with their emotions, feeling anger and helplessness at not being able to protect me.

‘My youngest daughter, just 11 years old, has been left scared and anxious.’

Ms Wood also said she had lost her job as a result of the attack, having been unable to continue in business with Franchitti.

Ms Wood was a former commercial manager with a logistics company she ran with her exhusband Roger before she became a director of Licence to Dance with Franchitti in 2024 having been a student at his classes.

The divorced mother of three entered various dance competitions whilst working with Franchitti including the five-day dance Promoters association (dPA) summer festival at Bournemouth in 2023 in which she won trophies in solo Latin and solo Ballroom dancing.

Her daughter is also a talented Latin ballroom dancer.

She was in a relationship with Franchitti for four years and the couple ran the Licence to Dance school in Altrincham.

But according to Ms Wood, Franchitti became ‘obsessive’ and when she tried to leave him, he would follow her around and repeatedly threaten to kill himself if their relationship were to end.

Miss Shannon Stewart, prosecuting, told how the attack happened on a trip to London ‘for them both to celebrate the new year’.

She said: ‘Ms Wood struggled to recall the exact events that took place but says while they had consumed some champagne after going shopping neither were drunk.

‘Whilst in their room the defendant threw her down onto the bed so she kicked him. He commented about them not having sex before throwing Ms Wood down again which hurt her jaw.

‘She believes that he must have hit her and was strangling her. She was screaming but could not breathe but he continued harder.

‘She fell out of the bed and was dragged around with her face dragging along the bedroom floor causing bruising, swelling and carpet burns. The defendant then placed his hands around her mouth to stop her from screaming.

‘She detailed the strangling was worse whilst on the floor as he did it harder and she felt like she was fighting for her life.’

Ms Wood was later treated at Wythenshawe Hospital where her teeth were found to have been chipped and she has sustained swelling, a bite mark inside the mouth, carpet burns, injury to ear and bruising to the face and neck.

Franchitti who lives in a £500,000 apartment on a millionaire row in Bowdon pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and charges of intentional strangulation and suffocation.

Defence counsel Richard Thomas said: ‘Mr Franchitti expresses his genuine remorse.

‘He is not just a man who had no previous convictions, he is a man of exemplary character. This is a genuine one off incident.’

Sentencing Franchitti Judge Simon Berkson told him: ‘How is it that someone of 63 commits such terrible offences?

‘The incident was prolonged, there was a substantial effect on the victim’s ability to carry out her normal everyday activities or ability to work.’