A firefighter who witnessed unimaginable horrors during the Grenfell Tower tragedy tried to strangle his wife during a domestic argument while on holiday in Cornwall.
Charles Cornelius, his wife and their 18-month-old child were staying in the Falmouth area in July 2023 but were involved in a series of heated arguments.
A sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court today (Friday, January 31) heard that on the day in question, the couple bickered and argued, and the door of their holiday accommodation was damaged during the row.
They eventually agreed to go to the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek and try to have a pleasant day for the sake of their young daughter. The pair continued to argue on the way to the animal charity and also rather publicly while there.
During the visit, Cornelius, 39, from Biddenden, Cranbrook in Kent, tried to snatch their daughter by the arm in front of another visitor. The pair agreed they just needed to get through the day and Mrs Cornelius said the plan was to go and visit her family who were also staying in Cornwall on holiday.
The court heard that during the journey back to their holiday accommodation, there was a further argument between the couple, and during the heated argument, Cornelius shouted that he would slit her throat in her sleep while their child was in the back. As their daughter started screaming, Mrs Cornelius asked her husband to get into the back of the car and comfort their daughter.
It was then that Cornelius started kicking and punching her seat and started to put his hands around his wife's neck and pulled her hair while she was still driving, and she struggled to breathe.
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In a victim impact statement, she said that the incident had left her scared, especially as she was trying to steer the family car at the time.
The court heard that when she managed to pull over two members of the public also stopped behind after witnessing the incident as they were concerned for her safety. They offered their assistance and suggested they take her to the police station.
Cornelius was eventually arrested and pleaded guilty to one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and another of intentional strangulation.
His Honour Judge Robert Linford said he was not surprised to hear Cornelius was suffering from PTSD, considering what he had witnessed during the Grenfell Tower tragedy on June 14, 2017, during which 72 people lost their lives. He said he had no doubt that that incident had shaped the way Cornelius has behaved since.
He told him: "On that day what was meant to be a family holiday ended up being a series of terrible rows between you and your wife in front of a very young child. I know you have expressed a very high degree of remorse for what you did. You pulled her hair and put your hands around her neck and squeezed while she was driving. Other people were concerned about what was going on.
"You were a firefighter at the Grenfell Tower fire. You have seen things that most of us really couldn't imagine. That those events have scarred you, I have no doubt."
Cornelius was sentenced to an 18-month community order with a mental health treatment requirement, 30 hours of rehabilitation activity requirement, and 100 hours of unpaid work. There is also a three-year restraining order imposed on him not to contact his wife.
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