Andrew Dixon (pictured above) left his wife with serious physical and emotional problems as well as seriously impaired speech
A husband left his wife with serious brain damage when he repeatedly smashed her in the face with a dumbbell after she ‘nagged him’ about his medication.
Aimee Dixon, 37, was attacked by her husband Andrew Dixon, 35, after he reacted badly when she questioned him about his medication, which he had been prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia.
The couple had argued after Aimee said Dixon had lied about taking his pills, which he was meant to have every night.
During the argument, it is claimed that Dixon probably used a dumbbell or iron bar to hit his wife, at least three times in the face and head area.
She suffered serious head injuries, including multiple fractures and bruising and bleeding to her brain.
Dixon had originally been accused of attempting to murder his wife on November 18. But he was ruled unfit to enter a plea and to give instructions to his defence team because of a mental disorder.
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court was asked instead to decide whether he caused the injuries to his wife but not whether he attempted to kill her.
Aimee Dixon (pictured above) is now learning to shower herself and is getting to grips with the medication – she remains in hospital
In March it decided that he did cause the injuries.
She now faces a daily struggle to eat and drink after her life was wrecked by her husband Andrew Dixon.
Eight months after the attack in Cleethorpes, Aimee is just now learning how to wash herself in the shower and to get to grips with her medication.
At a previous hearing earlier this year, Aimee had described her husband as a ‘good person’, but highlighted that when he didn’t take his medication he was a ‘different person’.
Police are pictured above arresting Andrew Dixon following the attack which left his wife unable to eat or drink
She will never live independently and may not ever fully be able to eat again.
Despite her injuries, Aimee recently took to Facebook to let her friends and family know she was ‘ok’ following the hearing.
Geraldine Kelly, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing that Aimee is still in hospital and that she will ‘never be back to how she was before’.
‘She has suffered brain damage and will never be back to how she was before. She will make improvements but has been left with multiple issues due to the brain damage.
‘With assistance, she can step out of bed and into a chair and is learning to use some of her upper body to wash herself in the shower.
Aimee recently posted on Facebook that she was ‘ok’ following the hearing. She had previously said her husband was a ‘good person’
Police guard the Cleethorpes home of Andrew Dixon and his wife, after she sustained brain injuries after the attack in November last year
‘This is all restricted due to her dizziness and fatigue, which is as a result of damage to her cerebellum, the area at the back of the brain which controls balance and coordination.
‘She requires blood thinning medication to prevent seizures because of a blood clot on her brain.’
Miss Kelly also highlighted that Aimee is now on medication to help regulate her sleep and wake patterns.
‘She is on anti-depressants as she suffered damage to the front of her brain, which looks after her mood, emotions, thinking, organising and planning.
‘She will never return to independent living and is likely always to require support. Supplemental feeding is highly likely in the long term because her swallow is very impaired.
‘It is unlikely she will be able to gain all her nutritional requirements by mouth.’
A hospital order was made on Dixon, as well as a restriction order.
He has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was transferred from Doncaster Prison to the medium-secure Humber Centre on May 20.
Inquiries were originally made about a possible place at Rampton high-security hospital, Nottinghamshire.
A doctor from the Humber Centre told the court: ‘He needs treatment and rehabilitation. He will be a risk to the public.
‘We are currently trying several treatment medications. I can’t see any improvement in his mental condition now.’
She said that it was very difficult to say how long Dixon would need treatment.
Dixon, wearing a black T-shirt, appeared in the dock with a female custody officer and four supporting members of the staff, thought to be from the Humber Centre.
He did not speak during the sentencing hearing and showed no emotion as he left the dock.
The High Court judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, told him: ‘You can now be taken back to the Humber Centre.’
Dixon’s father was in court for the hearing but, afterwards, declined to comment, saying that he wanted to remain neutral.