Teenagers detained for strangling Manchester mother in burglary
Two teenagers who committed a violent burglary in which a mother from Manchester was strangled at knifepoint have been given custodial sentences.
Shaquille Douglas, 19, of no fixed address, and a boy, 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted of aggravated burglary in Withington.
Douglas, who pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing, was jailed for eight years at Manchester Crown Court.
The youth was given a four-year detention order.
He had pleaded guilty to the burglary on Rudheath Avenue on 1 September.
Police said the woman was putting rubbish in her bin outside her home while her two children, aged ten and four, were indoors when she was dragged back into the house by the offenders.
Douglas then stamped on the woman's foot and began to strangle her with a scarf she was wearing, said police.
He then produced a flick knife and continued to strangle her as pressed the weapon to her neck.
Douglas kept the woman hostage in the kitchen while the other teenager went upstairs to search the house.
Officers said the pair eventually left with just a mobile phone.
Det Con Matthew Smith described it as a "frightening and very violent burglary" which had terrified their victim.
He said: "No-one should be made to feel so panicked in their own home, particularly when her young children were inside and she could not reach out for help.
"I know that not only did it cause the woman a huge amount of distress, but it shocked the entire community living in this area."