Years of abuse left woman 'looking like skeleton'

A woman has described how she was left in "permanent survival mode" and "looking like a skeleton" as a result of her former partner's controlling behaviour.

The victim, who has not been named, said she had also been "embarrassed and humiliated in public" on "many occasions" by Cody Smith-Alwood, 37.

In a statement read out on her behalf at Bristol Crown Court, she said the trauma she endured over years in their relationship meant she struggled to eat.

Smith-Alwood, from St George in Bristol, was jailed in June for more than three years, after pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour, assault, four public order offences and breaching a restraining order against a second woman.

In the statement, Smith-Alwood's ex-partner told the court she "constantly worried" he would carry out his threats of suicide and self-harm, leaving her in "permanent survival mode" and "unable to make the right choices".

"Over years I spent with Cody, this has left me shaken to my core and I still struggle to come to terms with what has happened," she said.

"Mentally, I am struggling to cope with the trauma. I find it difficult to trust others and am constantly worried about the possibility of something like this happening again."

While refusing to acknowledge the relationship was over, the court heard, Smith-Alwood spent long periods in the victim's home, controlled her phone – calling her constantly – and threatened to reveal confidential information about her.

As a result of his manipulative behaviour, the victim said, she found it "difficult to trust others" and suffered physical symptoms that her doctor linked to trauma from the relationship.

"The emotional and mental impact left me unable to eat and I lost a significant amount of weight," she said, adding that she had been left looking "like a skeleton".

Smith-Alwood was arrested in November 2024, following an argument at Avonview Cemetery in which he made threats to stab his ex-partner's brother and his friend.

He also threw his ex-partner over his shoulder, police said, which led to her grazing her knee.

Even from prison, he persisted in contacting her in the run-up to his court hearing.

He has now been served with a seven-year restraining order to protect her.

Det Con Annabelle Reeves-Linney, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the case had been "extremely complex".

She said: "I am glad that we have been able to finally give the complainant the justice and peace she deserves after a long, hard and exhausting battle with domestic abuse."

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