A man who strangled and assaulted women in hotel rooms has been jailed for more than seven years. Tobias King, 36, who previously lived in Devon and Somerset, carried out separate attacks on two women in Honiton, Devon, and Bournemouth, Dorset. He also sent a woman multiple unsolicited sexually explicit images.
King, of no fixed abode, was jailed at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday after admitting strangulation, false imprisonment, threats to kill, actual bodily harm and theft.
Detective Sergeant Duncan Sandle, of Avon and Somerset Police, called him "a violent and manipulative offender who is a danger to any woman".
The case came to light after King repeatedly strangled and seriously assaulted a woman at a hotel in Honiton in late 2025. He stole her purse and phone and left her unconscious in the room at about 03:00 GMT. Later that morning, at about 09:00, police received a call from the hotel's general manager reporting that a woman with significant injuries had attended reception in a distressed state, requesting immediate assistance.
The victim, who had been staying overnight, told officers she had been subjected to repeated physical assaults, including multiple incidents of being strangled that caused her to lose consciousness on separate occasions. Her injuries included extensive bruising to both arms, her neck, legs, face and nose. In a statement, she described how each time she regained consciousness, the assault continued and King stated he "had to kill her" and that he was "not going to prison for anyone". The assault left her with extreme facial bruising and throat damage, which left her barely able to talk for months.
King evaded police for nearly two weeks by staying in tents and hotels, but was caught after using a bank card he had stolen.
Once apprehended, police said King was also charged with an outstanding offence of a serious assault against another woman in a hotel room in Bournemouth in late 2022. In that attack, he put his hands around her neck and squeezed so hard that she could not breathe. Two weeks later, he attacked her again by throwing her on a sofa, hitting her in the head and using both hands to strangle her, causing swelling and bruising. The following month, he sent her social media messages asking her to drop the case against him, as well as sending her sexually explicit videos.
Man Jailed for Strangling Women in Hotel Rooms