A Swindon man threatened to kill his girlfriend amid a total of eight crimes he was found guilty of in court.

Claudio Stroud, 23, of Tennyson Street, Swindon, also assaulted two arresting police officers and is in custody after being found guilty following a trial by jury at Swindon Crown Court.

On March 22, 2023, police were called to an address in Swindon where the victim, a woman in her 20s, told officers she had been repeatedly assaulted by her partner.

The following day as Stroud was arrested he assaulted two police officers.

Stroud was subsequently charged with threats to kill, two counts of threatening with an offensive weapon in a private place, controlling and coercive behaviour, two counts of actual bodily harm and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

He is due to be sentenced on November 15.

Trainee Complex Crime Investigator Catherine Baird, based in CID, said: “Stroud is a dangerous offender and I’m pleased that a jury has found him guilty of these offences.

“I would like to pay tribute to the victim for the incredible bravery that she has shown throughout this case since coming forward, as well as the witnesses who were integral to securing this conviction.

“Their support for this prosecution means that they and other women are safeguarded from Stroud.”

Stroud's case was extended due to the fire that broke out in Swindon Crown Court earlier this year

A hearing was held in April to determine how the 22-year-old's case should proceed as he had not yet entered a plea to any of the alleged offences.

After some deliberation, the court heard that the defendant wanted to go ahead with a trial, which could have started later that day, 

But a lingering smell from the aftermath of last week's fire in the building was deemed too unpleasant to allow for a full trial to take place. 

The blaze at the Swindon Crown and County Court broke out in a second-floor plant room 

An aerial platform was used to by the six crews who attended the fire at 12.53am on April 10, leaving at 6.51am.

In total, 14 firefighters wearing breathing apparatus took on the blaze with water jets

One court room remained closed until June, while the other had the lingering smell that had disrupted Stroud's proceedings for around a week.