Former boxing champion Wadi Camacho ‘cut ex-girlfriend while grabbing iPhone’

Wadi Camacho, 37, is accused of leaving Louise Mitchell with a cut that took months to heal after grabbing her phone during a row.

Wadi Camacho with his commonwealth belt at The O2 Arena, London (PA) (PA Archive)

The ex-girlfriend of a former boxing champion said he accused her of “trying to ruin his life” by getting a court order that banned him from verbally and physically abusing her.

Wadi Camacho, 37, is accused of leaving Louise Mitchell with a cut that took months to heal after grabbing her phone during a row outside his mother’s home in Poplar, east London.

The ex-cruiserweight, who previously held the Commonwealth title, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm and the theft of Ms Mitchell’s iPhone 6S.

He has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of breaching a non-molestation order by “threatening, intimidating, harassing or verbally abusing” and using violence against Ms Mitchell.

Jurors were told Camacho was not present at the hearing when the order was made in January 2020, nor at a follow-up one when it was reviewed and kept in place.

But prosecutors said he was aware of its existence, with court documents showing it was meant to have been sent to him.

Among its conditions were two that banned him from using violence or verbal abuse against Ms Mitchell, the court heard.

On Mother’s Day 2020, Ms Mitchell said she had a conversation about the order with Camacho.

Giving evidence from behind a screen on Tuesday, she said: “There was a conversation on Mother’s Day in March. We spoke on the phone and made reference to the order.

“He made a comment about me trying to ruin his life with the order and that was the only conversation we had about it.

“I think he was being difficult.”

Months later, on June 25, Ms Mitchell pulled up in a car outside Camacho’s mother’s home, the court was told.

I could see the rage in his face and I said, 'I don't want to argue'. He went to take my keys out of the ignition and he said, 'You see these keys? You're never getting them back. They're going down the drain'

Louise Mitchell

The former couple usually communicated through his mother or another third party but she had been shielding due to the Covid-19 pandemic, jurors heard.

Ms Mitchell, who had a legitimate reason to be at the address as part of a family arrangement, the court was told, said Camacho went downstairs and confronted her.

He accused her of sending “cheeky messages” after she texted him to say he was “playing happy families” and referenced his new partner, she said.

“We hadn’t really discussed much about his new girlfriend, his new partner,” she added.

“I could see the rage in his face and I said, ‘I don’t want to argue’. He went to take my keys out of the ignition and he said, ‘You see these keys? You’re never getting them back. They’re going down the drain’.”

Asked why she believed Camacho had taken her belongings, Ms Mitchell said: “That’s what he does. He’ll try and take things to inconvenience me.”

The former cruiserweight is then accused of grabbing Ms Mitchell’s phone when she used it to call 999 as the incident escalated and scratching her cheek, the court heard.

An audio recording of the call was played to the court, with Ms Mitchell heard shouting “go away from me” before the line went dead.

When asked how long the cut took to heal, she said: “A good few months, and even I went on holiday recently and when I tan you can see a white kind of scar.”

In a police interview, the former boxer told officers the situation would “affect (his) job” and he was “tired of all this craziness” when questioned about the incident.

He claimed his ex-partner had probably been trying to “crank (him) up to say something not great” and said he was sick of “all these pathetic lies”.

A transcript of the interview read to the court showed Camacho had said: “This obviously does affect my job, what I do. I’m tired of it, all this craziness.”

Iain Purdie, representing Camacho, pointed out that the defendant had voluntarily answered questions, waived his right to silence and urged officers to find CCTV from outside the property.

If they did review footage, they would find he had never assaulted Ms Mitchell or snatched her phone, the ex-sportsman said.

“She’s the one who came to my mum’s house all angry,” he told police.

He added: “Whenever she wants to switch the button it’s like everything goes all pear-shaped.”

The trial, which is due to last two days, continues.