Boyfriend racially abused partner by calling her ‘a dwarf’

A boyfriend racially abused his girlfriend and waved a knife over her head, warning her: ‘I’ll kill you and no one will know,’ a court heard.

Chintu Sood, 40, allegedly threatened to kill 20-year-old Leila Zollo, slashing her hand with a kitchen knife while the two fought in the Ibis Hotel in Croydon on 6 November last year.

He also called Ms Zollo, who has Asian heritage ‘a dwarf’ and branded her father ‘a lil Chinese f*cker,’ it is claimed.

Jurors heard he threatened her with a knife after the pair had been drinking in the hotel room while Sood gambled on his phone.

He became enraged when Ms Zollo said she was unable to help him withdraw money on a gambling site, it is said.

Giving evidence behind a screen today, Ms Zollo told jurors that her then-boyfriend grew violent.

‘He became aggressive saying, “You should know this stuff, you should help me. I can see it in your eyes, you’re being malicious and you don’t want me to have this money.”

‘He shouted at me that he’s going to break my face.

‘After that he came at me and we started to have a physical fight.’

Sood approached her as she sat on the bed and grabbed her hair, the court heard.

‘He punched me repeatedly on the side, on the head, behind my head, on my face, on the side of my face.

‘I tried to fight back, scratching him on the back as he was holding me down.’

The pair fell off the bed and onto the ground and Sood grabbed a kitchen knife from a nearby counter, jurors heard.

‘He told me to shut up and if I didn’t he would kill me.

‘He grabbed the knife. He waved it around on top of me and he said, “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you and no one will know.”

‘I stayed quiet and he kept on waving it around and I got scared so I put my hands [up] because I thought he was coming for my face as he was saying, “I’m going to slash your face.”

‘I put my hands up as he was going down and I got cut between my middle finger and ring finger.’

Jurors grimaced as a video of the wound in question was played.

Sood left the hotel room after inflicting the injury, Ms Zollo said.

The couple stayed together in the following months, during which time the defendant allegedly sent at least two ‘threatening’ messages to his girlfriend.

On 29 November, jurors heard he texted her: ‘I’m going to beat you up Thursday X. Badly X. Blocked. Lmfao. Not talking to no1. Ugly dog. Dwarf. Tramp. You remember the beating you got like a dog. That was nothing.’

On 22 December, he allegedly sent the following message: ‘I would like to come but I’m going to beat u up badly if that’s okay with u then pls come for beating yr real dad should have done. Poor lil Chinese f*cker.’

The next day, Ms Zollo phoned the police to report that her boyfriend was ‘banging’ on her door, the court heard.

In an audio recording of the 999 call, Ms Zollo could be heard telling the operator: ‘He is threatening me.’

Prosecutor William Sneddon said police attended the 20-year-old’s home address on 23 December and arrested him.

Sood, of Thornton Heath, Croydon, denies making a threat to kill, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, racially aggravated harassment putting another in fear of violence and two counts of sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

The trial continues.