Upper Brynamman women sent to prison for false imprisonment

Alexandra Fanthom, 25, and Jennifer Nicklin, 34, both of Heol y Gelynen, Upper Brynamman, Ammanford, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on October 12 for sentencing.

The pair admitted falsely imprisoning the teenager – who we cannot name for legal reasons – in what His Honour Judge Walters called a ‘harrowing’ experience. They also admitted unlawful wounding.

Mr Davies, prosecuting, told the court that it is believed the defendants met the teenager a few days prior to the August 12 incident and agreed to go back to the flat in Heol y Gelynen to do drugs.

It was said that the three of them took crack cocaine and cannabis and also consumed alcohol, before it was decided to buy more drugs.

Alexandra Fanthom. Picture: Dyfed Powys Police (Image: Dyfed Powys Police)

Fanthom – who was said to have been banned from a local store – gave her card to the teenager as the pair went to the shop to go and get money out and after they bought the drugs, Fanthom is said to have accused the teen of withdrawing more money and stealing from her.

It is then that the ordeal for the teenager began.

Mr Davies told the court that the victim was made to strip down and was searched multiple times for the money and Fanthom later called the police to report the theft of money, with the pair taking it into their own hands after being told the police couldn’t come out until the following morning.

They kept the teenager in the kitchen and threatened him. Nicklin is said to have headbutted and attacked the victim, before Fanthom pulled her away.

Fanthom returned to the victim with a 12-inch kitchen knife and ‘aimed it at the victim’s chest’ to which the teenager tried to defend himself from a potential attack.

Fanthom stabbed the victim through the hand, severing the artery to the victim’s thumb and almost severing the thumb muscle.

Thankfully, said Mr Davies, the victim has made a full recovery.

Following the knife wound, the victim was locked in Fanthom’s bedroom for an hour with the bleeding wound as both refused to call him an ambulance or get medical help.

Nicklin is said to have commented that they would have to kill him and could use insulin before Fanthom said no, due to the amount of blood on the bed as it would connect them to his death.

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The pair refused to let him leave for around four hours when they relented and allowed him to call a friend who was in bed at the time.

He explained to the friend and then a second call to the friend came from Fanthom an hour later who said they wouldn’t let the victim go until she had her money. The friend is said to have believed it was a scam and hung up.

The victim called the friend again shortly after and said that they had agreed to let him go and asked for a ride, to which the friend’s husband obliged and picked him up along with the defendants.

When he dropped the defendants off at Tir y Dail, he began administering first aid to the victim before the defendants got back into the car.

After dropping the defendants off at another location, he took the victim to Glangwili Hospital, and it is there that staff called the police.

Mr Alchurch, mitigating for Fanthom, told the court that Fanthom gave her card to the victim but didn’t go with him.

When she saw on her bank account that more than the agreed £40 had been taken out, she went back with the teen to the store, but the shopkeeper would not provide evidence of the transaction made.

Jennifer Nicklin. Picture: Dyfed Powys Police (Image: Dyfed Powys Police)

He also told the court how Fanthom – who had a number of previous convictions including for battery – had moved to the area from Coventry to get away from the drugs culture she had been in and after receiving serious injuries in a car crash in January this year, she returned to drugs and has lost contact with her children but is working towards changing her lifestyle and hopes to be a mentor for others in similar situations.

Mr Murphy, mitigating for Nicklin, told the court how Nicklin was not present at the time of the knife attack and pointed out the shock shown in her face when the extent of the injuries was read out in court.

He told the court how Nicklin – who has a whole rap sheet of convictions including robbery, shoplifting and public order offences – had been suffering as earlier this year her partner of nine years had died from drugs.

Both mitigations included that their clients showed genuine remorse.

Judge Walters told the defendants they were lucky that they had not been facing a charge relating to the death of the victim. “This is truly a horrendous piece of criminal behaviour.”

He continued: “The fact you are not facing a sentence of killing somebody is pure luck,” before telling them he believes that when on drugs, they are capable of killing someone.

“The facts of the case do not come much more disturbing than this,” he said. “While you were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, you ended up giving the victim a sustained period of abuse.

“You subjected him to that horrendous piece of violence, you then locked him in a room for at least an hour before you had any sort of contact with him.

“The thought process crossed your mind in that drug induced state that you should kill him by injecting him.”

Judge Walters sentenced both to three years in prison and made them subject to an indefinite restraining order. They will also have to pay a surcharge on release from prison.

Following the verdict, both defendants told the court via video link from HMP Eastwood Park that they were sorry.