Zimbabwean man to rot in UK jail after striking wife 8 times on the head and pouring boiling water on her

50-year-old Louden Chagona, 50, has admitted attempting to murder his partner by striking her eight times on the head with a saucepan and pouring boiling water over her as she lay injured on the floor of their Liverpool home.

Chinorwadza suffered serious head injuries in the attack at a house on Snaefell Avenue, Tuebrook, and was left with burns to her arm. Chagona pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, October 6, months after the assault left her fighting for her life.

He is due to be sentenced on Friday, November 13, and remains in custody. Judge Stuart Driver KC warned that the case would bring a substantial punishment and said the court would consider life imprisonment and an extended sentence.

“You will appear via video on the 13th of November, when you will be sentenced. As you know, this is a very serious case and there will be a very substantial sentence. You are remanded in custody. Go with the officer please,” Judge Driver told Chagona as he adjourned the hearing.

At the end of the brief court appearance, the judge told defence counsel John Rowan: “Life imprisonment and extended sentences will have to be considered.”

Chagona nodded as he was led from the dock to the cells. He had been assisted by an interpreter during the hearing and wore a navy-blue fleece. Rowan had asked for him to be brought back before the court to enter a new plea. Chagona then changed his plea from not guilty to guilty, admitting the attempted murder charge.

The assault took place on Sunday, May 17. Merseyside Police were called to the house shortly before 7.30am after reports that a woman had been attacked. Paramedics attended and found Chinorwadza with serious head injuries. She was taken to hospital, where her condition was initially described as critical but stable. She was later discharged as an inpatient.

The account of the attack describes how Chagona struck her repeatedly with a saucepan before pouring boiling water over her while she was down on the ground. Photographs of the utensil taken at the scene showed it bloodstained and bent out of shape. Pools of blood were also found around the kitchen. The blows caused severe injuries to Chinorwadza’s head, while the boiling water burned her arm.

A dispute over a tuna sandwich was described as preceding the violence. Chagona apparently flew into a rage after a sandwich was thrown at him. The attack left Chinorwadza seriously injured inside the home, while police and forensic officers worked at the address after the emergency call.

Residents described Snaefell Avenue as a quiet street and spoke of the distress caused by seeing police outside a nearby home. A white forensic tent was erected outside the property as officers examined the scene. One neighbour recalled returning home to find police in the street and seeing blood inside the entrance.

“I was out at the time and I came home to police outside. When I walked past, there was blood on the wall behind the front door.

“But it’s really sad, the poor woman. Hopefully she’ll be okay. You see police in the area, like on Windsor Road, but nothing down here in the whole time I’ve lived here. This is a quiet road. It’s quite nice.”

Another neighbour described hearing banging and shouting from around 4am and said a resident began hammering on the door at about 7am. Police arrived shortly before 7.30am.

Chagona had initially denied attempted murder when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court in July. He was then due to face a trial beginning on November 9, expected to last four to five days. He was remanded in custody ahead of the trial. His guilty plea on October 6 came after that hearing timetable had been set, and the November trial is no longer due to proceed.

Chinorwadza, who was in her 30s, had lived in the United Kingdom for a number of years. Chagona is understood to have arrived in the country from Zimbabwe with the couple’s young daughter only about three weeks before the attack, intending to live with his partner. The family’s recent arrival was among the details surrounding the case presented in reporting of the court proceedings.

The case comes against the backdrop of wider domestic-abuse figures in Merseyside and across England and Wales. A regional review commissioned by the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner estimated that more than 117,000 people, predominantly women and children, experienced domestic abuse in Merseyside each year. It said around 10,000 people received support annually through more than 20 organisations, many of which were operating beyond safe capacity. The review also identified waiting lists, particularly for therapeutic services, and gaps in provision for children and young people, disabled people and marginalised groups.

National figures published by the Office for National Statistics estimated that 3.8 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025. That represented 7.8 per cent of people in the age group, including an estimated 2.2 million women and 1.5 million men. Police recorded 816,493 domestic-abuse-related crimes during the same period, while 54,987 such cases were prosecuted. The recorded crime total was lower than the 851,062 recorded the previous year, a change attributed in part to revisions in police recording practices.

Chagona will remain in custody until his sentencing hearing. Judge Driver said he would appear by video link on November 13, when the court will determine the sentence for the attempted murder he admitted.