Mum’s round the clock care ‘worst home abuse’ choose ever heard of at fingers of ‘monster’

Natasha Farah is cherished by her devoted family and her nine-year-old son Roman believes his mum “is just perfect”. Yet the 31-year-old from Old Colwyn, North Wales, can no longer embrace her son and tell him she loves him.

Nor can she spend time walking along the beach with her sister Samantha or her dedicated parents Denise and Sammire. For Tasha now requires round-the-clock care for a devastating brain injury after she was found hanging at her home in April by her then-partner.

While there is no evidence “the monster John Gizzi” was directly responsible for the injuries Tasha suffered, he was found culpable for the “worst case” of domestic and psychological violence that a judge had ever witnessed, reports North Wales Live.

His Honour Simon Mills sentenced the 55-year-old from St Asaph to four years in prison for coercive and controlling behaviour on Thursday. He additionally handed Gizzi a further 11 months behind bars for the intentional strangulation of her sister Samantha.

Samantha and Tasha’s parents courageously described the devastating impact of Gizzi’s actions on both Tasha and the wider family during an emotionally charged hearing at Mold Crown Court.

At one point Denise criticised Gizzi for only appearing in court via videolink from prison. She told the court in a statement how the family have been “robbed of something so very special”.

Denise said: “She is the kindest soul in the world. She loves Roman – her only boy. She gave him a grounding in life. It was beautiful to watch their bond. He adores her. He said ‘My mum is perfect’.”

Denise addressed Gizzi directly in court: “My grandson Roman is nine and he has to live with the fact Natasha met the ‘smiling, devil monster that you are’.

“Now sadly I’ve seen my grandson have severe night terrors – a direct pain to the soul. To see him visit his mum (in hospital), (who is) not talking, not moving. All he wants is his mum to hug him and say his name. It’s something he should not have to go through.”

Denise said she cannot fathom what Natasha endures. However, she added: “She does give me the strength to be here today. She gives me strength.” Denise told Gizzi that Tasha is Samantha’s soulmate but Samantha was “strangled by you, the monster”.

Denise’s sons, Joseph and Jacob, had also been devastated by the suffering their sister has experienced. She said: “I’ve seen my boys cry like babies – grown men! We all live with the grief of how Tasha was before. They are all precious memories. I would give anything to be able to go back to (how we were).”

Their lives have been transformed by this “catastrophic” ordeal which has triggered “waves of grief and waves of anger”. Denise sobbed as she vowed to fight for justice for Tasha: “I feel this should never have happened. This is brutal. This was not our story. I will always keep fighting and hoping. I will never give up.”

Also speaking today was Tasha’s brother Joseph, who read a statement to the court. Joseph said Tasha smiles when they talk about Roman. She is “still there” adding: “Everyday moments are shrouded in sadness and uncertainty.”

Roman is at an age when he should be “making memories with his mum” but he has been “robbed of a childhood”, Joseph said. He added: “John Gizzi may get an end date (for his sentence). But there is no end date for the suffering my family has gone through.”

Samantha, herself a victim of Gizzi’s brutality, said simply: “Give me back my sister!” Samantha, who works on superyachts, was rammed by a car driven by Gizzi when she was with her sister.

She told the hearing: “I’ve swum in the Atlantic, visited Colombian jungles and jumped out of a plane at 14,000ft (but) I’ve never experienced anything like that that night. He is a dangerous monster.”

Tasha’s dad Sammire Farah took to the witness box to deliver his own statement to the hushed courtroom: “I can’t describe the pain I feel about what this monster has done to my family. She is a kind (and) strong girl and has always been there for the underdog.

“Tasha is severely brain damaged – trapped in her own body. I see a sad desperately frightened little girl. She cries real tears but can never make a sound, and no-one can understand that except her family.

“We will always fight evil (but her son) has had his mother ripped away from him and we watch the night terrors that this monster – you, John – have caused.”

A gathering of supporters stood on the steps of the courthouse to rally behind the family and demand an end to domestic violence against women.

Denise believes Gizzi’s sentence was far too lenient: “He’ll actually do two and a half years. It’s shocking. This is not justice. This doesn’t give anyone hope.

She told North Wales Live: “I want a Tasha’s Law. If you end up doing this (committing domestic abuse) you should face a long, long stretch in prison.”

Detective Constable Rebecca Donaghy, of North Wales Police, said: “Violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour, remains an absolute priority for North Wales Police.

“We are committed to identifying perpetrators, protecting victims and pursuing offenders through the criminal justice system.

“Anyone who chooses to perpetrate violence or abuse against women and girls should be in no doubt that the officers will pursue them and that we will seek to ensure they are dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”