Michael Cosgrove denies attempting to murder his partner. He claims he panicked and jumped out the window.
The man is accused of strangling his partner after a New Order concert. He told the jury, “I wouldn’t do that.” Prosecutors say he was full of rage. They allege he told her, “you are dead tonight,” and then repeatedly strangled her until she became unconscious.
He denies the attempted murder charge. He testified in his defense on Thursday, regarding events that took place in February. He told the court they argued that night and admitted being mad but denied attacking her. This was in the early hours of August 25.
Mr. Cosgrove stated she punched him. He grabbed her neck to stop her falling, saying she was very drunk at that time. He also said he put his hand on her chest, again to prevent her from falling. He denied she lost consciousness at any point, claiming she simply fell asleep.
He described how he panicked and jumped from the bathroom window when police arrived at the property. Mr. Cosgrove, a warehouse manager, began dating her in September 2023 and they moved in together soon after. He said things were very good at first in the relationship.
They started having arguments at times. In early August, she got conjunctivitis, and her eye was almost completely shut. She joked he caused it. She put makeup under her eye once, making it look like she had a black eye. She involved the police, he stated, asking who they would believe, which he felt was very convincing and scary.
Five days before the alleged attack, she confronted him after finding him on the dating app Bumble. He told this to the jury, admitting he initially denied it. She left the house but returned three nights later. He stated it was someone else’s profile and he was trying to save the relationship, knowing he had messed up by being on the app.
Everything came out when she returned two nights before the concert. They watched New Order on Saturday, August 24, with her mother and stepfather also attending. They went to a pub to watch football beforehand, then to her mom’s house, continuing to drink there. Her parents left the concert early, and his partner was very drunk.
She was unsteady on her feet by the end, falling while leaving a portable toilet and dropping some food. “She drinks till she drops,” he told the jury. They took an Uber to her home and bickered on the way back and after arriving home. She threw a punch at him on the landing.
He stated he stopped her before she could hit him. They continued arguing downstairs before she went to the bathroom. She pushed past him in the bedroom doorway and stumbled into drawers, on top of which sat a television. She swiped the TV toward him, and as he protected himself, it fell.
She fell forward towards him, and he reacted to stop her from falling. He grabbed her throat with his left hand, which prevented her from falling, and got her back on the bed. His lawyer, Howard Bernstein, asked about the force used, and he said he needed force to lift her up, needing to use some pressure with his fingers. She herself said he strangled her right away.
He said strangulation accusations came up again during conversation shortly after, and he felt like he was being set up. She shouted ‘stop’ twice, and he packed things into a bag. She caught her foot in the bag, then fell forward. He put his hand below her neck to stop her falling. He said he didn’t use any force at all then.
Afterward, she sat next to him on the bed and said they could work things out, to which he told her the relationship was dead. She replied, “If you’re going to go, go…”, and then threatened to scream, he alleges. She shouted ‘help’ twice, and he put his hand over her mouth, saying it didn’t need to keep going. His lawyer asked if he tried to stop her breathing, and Mr. Cosgrove replied, “Not a chance.”
Afterward, she seemingly fell asleep, and the police then arrived. He panicked and ran to the bathroom wearing shorts, jumping out the window. He said it was panic and shock, and he was startled by an officer. He ran to her car and spent the night in it, he claims, and was found in the trunk and arrested.
The prosecutor, Alaric Bassano, questioned him, asking if he invented details and suggesting that the defense matched prosecution evidence. Cosgrove replied, “That’s not correct.” Mr. Cosgrove lives in Wythenshawe. He denies attempted murder and the alternative charge for causing wounding with intent. He faces a charge of intentional strangulation.
The trial is expected to last a week and continues.