A Tinder match from hell who locked a woman in her flat for two hours on their first date and strangled her has been jailed.
Jordan Brooker, 22, cried in court as he was jailed for 31 months for the offenses against Isabelle Worthmills, who he had been messaging for months before turning up at her address.
The victim was only rescued after a neighbor heard her banging on the walls and begging to be released, the court heard.
George Joseph, prosecuting, said: “The complainant and the defendant knew each other having met on the dating app Tinder.
“They emailed for quite some time, but the defendant had never met the complainant.”
Jordan Brooker, 22, has been jailed after locking a woman in her own flat for two hours and strangling her during their first date
Brooker cried at Reading Crown Court as he was jailed for 31 months for the offenses against Isabelle Worthmills, who he had been messaging for months before turning up at her address
Reading Crown Court heard that Brooker had turned up at Mrs Worthmills’ home on January 10 this year with another man she did not know.
The three had stayed up until the early hours having a nice chat, but eventually Mrs Worthmills had gone to bed, the court heard.
When she woke up around 4:30 a.m. for a glass of water, “she saw the suspect rocking with his head down and his hood up,” the complaint said.
The victim had checked on Brooker but he grabbed a bottle of Malibu and smashed it on the floor, a judge was told.
“Ms Worthmills asked the defendant to leave,” Mr Joseph said. ‘He said words to the effect of ‘who do you think you are talking to me like that’.
‘He became aggressive and pushed the complainant towards the TV cabinet. She hid in the toilet to calm down.”
When the victim returned, Brooker had called her a ‘fat bastard’ and told her to ‘sit the fuck down and don’t move’, the court heard.
Mr Joseph said: “The suspect put his hand around the victim’s neck and pressed the neck with his thumbs. The complainant described feeling pressure in her neck, which affected her ability to breathe.
“The complainant felt that he was going to kill her because of his behavior, comments and actions.”
Mrs Worthmills had threatened to slit her wrists in an attempt to persuade Brooker to let go, the court heard, but he told her to ‘cut deeper’ and called her a ‘bastard’.
Brooker broke the victim’s phone and sat outside the door of the flat so she couldn’t leave, the court heard.
But at 6.30am police were called to her home after a neighbor heard her banging on the wall and shouting ‘let me out’.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Worthmills said she was ‘completely heartbroken and traumatised’ by the incident and had subsequently quit her job.
“I’m afraid to go out, even to meet friends,” she said. ‘I’m terrified of meeting Jordan.
‘Jordan knows where I live. I’m afraid that even if Jordan and I weren’t in a relationship, he’ll try to get me.”
Anne-Marie Critchley, defending Brooker, said he had used cocaine and alcohol and his problems stemmed from substance abuse.
Brooker tried to read a letter he had written to the judge, but he seemed overcome with emotion and said he could not read it.
Instead, Ms Critchley revealed that he ‘expresses remorse towards the victim and recognizes that she deserves an apology’.
Ms Critchley added that Brooker had 10 certificates showing he had attended various workshops while on remand in prison.
“The person who behaved in this abhorrent manner and the person in the dock are actually very different,” the lawyer added.
Brooker, of Hemdean Road in Reading, Berkshire, had admitted one offense of false imprisonment and one offense of strangulation with intent.
Judge Mathew Turner, sentencing on Friday, said: ‘The victim was trapped in her flat for about two hours, crying and scared.
‘There is a clear link between drug and alcohol use and your offenses on this date. That is an aggravating factor.’
The judge revealed that Brooker – who had nine previous convictions for 11 offenses – had breached the terms of a community order he was given for harassment on December 1, 2022, and a suspended sentence he was given for three charges of assault on December 1, 2022. December 20, 2022.
After the judge activated the suspended sentence, he said the total sentence for Brooker was 31 months in prison.