Female soldier, 32, is sacked from the Army after throttling and headbutting her wife in series of drunken rages at barracks
- Gunner Renee Mulcahy pleaded guilty to beating up her civilian wife Sophie
- Soldier gripped her wife by the throat and headbutted her while she lay in bed
- 32-year-old was dismissed from the Army and ordered to do community service
A female soldier has been sacked from the Army after throttling and headbutting her wife in a series of drunken rages.
Gunner Renee Mulcahy pleaded guilty to beating up her civilian wife Sophie Penfold on several occasions at their home on Thorney Island in West Sussex.
The 32-year-old admitted five counts of assault by battery and one charge of misconduct through alcohol and was dismissed from the military at a court martial.
Gunner Renee Mulcahy pleaded guilty to beating up her civilian wife Sophie Penfold (pictured together before their split)
Mulcahy, pictured, admitted five counts of assault by battery and one charge of misconduct through alcohol and was dismissed from the military at a court martial
The pair met in 2012, before Gnr Mulcahy joined the Army in 2017. Pictured, the couple on their wedding day
Mulcahy, right, beat her wife, left, at their service accommodation at Baker Barracks on Thorney Island, West Sussex
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard the pair met in 2012, before Gnr Mulcahy joined the Army in 2017.
They moved into service accommodation at Baker Barracks on Thorney Island, West Sussex in 2018 and married later that year.
Prosecutor Lyndsay Zalkin said the first assault happened after an argument about how much Gnr Mulcahy had drunk that night. She then grabbed Ms Penfold’s throat while calling her a c**t.
During the summer of 2019, Gnr Mulcahy came home at 2am ‘drunk and angry’ and gripped her wife by the throat then headbutted her while she lay in bed.
In December 2019, Ms Penfold packed her bags to leave but Gnr Mulcahy pushed her before ‘swinging full force’ to punch her in the head, missing and hitting a door.
The couple spent Christmas apart, but by March 2020 they were living together again when Gnr Mulcahy came home drunk and slammed her wife against the wall and grabbed her by the throat.
Ms Penfold called the on-site guards but once they left Mulcahy proceeded to punch and kick her wife.
The following morning Ms Penfold reported the soldier, who was removed from the house before the relationship ended.
Months later Gnr Mulcahy broke into her estranged wife’s accommodation while drunk to take one of their dogs.
In August 2020, Gnr Mulcahy stayed at Ms Penfold’s home to look after the dogs while she was away. When she returned, Gnr Mulcahy pushed her into a kitchen cupboard and poured a cup of cold coffee over her.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large dismissed Gnr Mulcahy, right, from the military
Ms Zalkin read a witness statement from Ms Penfold, in which she expressed her shock ‘that someone you thought loved you could lay their hands on you’ and said she was no longer a ‘confident, fun and bubbly person’.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large dismissed Gnr Mulcahy, who was serving in the 12th Royal Artillery regiment at the time, from the military.
She was also handed an 18 month service community order, requiring her to fulfil 60 rehabilitation days and 90 days of an abstinence monitoring programme.
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