AN RAF officer who admitted strangling his Squadron Leader partner when she threatened to leave him has walked free from court.
A jury took just three hours to clear Flight Lieutenant Tim Barry, a 31-year-old helicopter pilot who called himself a “monster” in his evidence.
He’d been accused of throttling his RAF superior Sqdn. Ldr Sarah Seddon, 38, until she passed out on their bed while her three-year-old son slept in another room.
Barry had denied the attempted murder charge, along with a second count of causing grievous bodily harm, and was cleared after a five-day trial.
However, he has admitted a lesser charge of assault and will be sentenced next month.
At Oxford Crown Court, Judge Ian Pringle warned the pilot that all sentencing options were open.
Barry, of Cuxham in Oxfordshire, remains in a relationship with Ms Seddon despite the strangling incident.
The court heard that the couple were still in love and an item but had had to spend almost two years apart communicating over Skype and by text messages, as the judge had previously made it a condition of his bail that he and Ms Seddon should not be together.
She had asked for that condition to be scrapped, so they could live together.
“OUT OF CHARACTER”
Eight of the Flight Lieutenant’s associates had spoken of him in glowing terms during his trial.
And Ms Seddon had refused to give evidence in court against her lover, who admitted to “having his hands around her neck”.
Senior ranking Wing Commander James Maston – who sat through the six-day trial – told the jury he had known the defendant for ten years both personally and professionally, describing Barry as his “best friend”.
He added: “Whilst based overseas we are faced with difficult challenges.
“It is often not clear what you should do; Tim would always give a measure opinion which was referenced by the RAF as he was promoted to head of his peer group at the time.”
The commander stated he knew the victim, Sarah Seddon, for 14 years and regarded them as a loved-up couple, referring to the assault on January 14 in 2018 as “utterly out of character”.
The defendant – who called himself a “monster” in his evidence – fell in love with his senior Squadron leader while they were serving in Afghanistan.
BESOTTED
Barry was so besotted, he gave up a role in his beloved squadron of 10 years so they could start a relationship.
On Ms Seddon’s first weekend back from a three-month deployment overseas, the couple went for a celebratory night out.
But their evening ended with Barry strangling his partner unconscious and calling 999 to say “I tried to kill my girlfriend by strangulation”.
“NOT CONTROLLING”
Defence lawyer Lisa Wilding told the jury: “The prosecution paints a picture of a man who demands to be in control, but I suggest the evidence tells you he is a man who does not like to go to sleep on an argument.
“There is no evidence to suggest he was a controlling man, not a shred.
“But what you have heard from people who have known him for a decade is a man who puts others first. “The man who is closest to him, RAF Wing commander James Maston, has never seen him aggressive and he is described by friends as one of the most kind and generous people they have ever met, an exemplary person and a complete gentleman.”
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After the jury announced its unanimous “not guilty” verdicts, Barry left the dock and hugged emotional pals in the public gallery.
Agreeing to adjourn his sentencing, Judge Pringle said he would order a pre-sentence report from the National Probation Service.
