A cheating choirmaster subjected his wife to a savage beating when she confronted him on his mistress’s doorstep with proof they were having an affair, a court heard.
Jack Taverner, 68, gave businesswoman Elina Fragola a black eye and a fractured nose after she revealed she had a video of him being ‘intimate’ with chorister Jean Munday.
The confrontation began when Taverner – who had moved in with 72-year-old widow Mrs Munday despite denying they were in a relationship – demanded Ms Fragola hand over a camera containing the intimate footage as his lover looked on.
He then pulled her inside the property in a fit of rage, pushed her onto a sofa and punched her several times to the head, face and body.
Mrs Munday – who shouted at her lover to stop – herself attended hospital after falling against a kitchen cabinet during the commotion in June 2023.
Former bistro owner Ms Fragola, 65, who had been married to Taverner for eight years, has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks.
She branded her now ex-husband a ‘narcissist’ in an excoriating victim statement.
He ran the ‘Can’t Sing Choir’ group in the genteel market town of Sandbach, Cheshire under his stage name of Taverner.
Choirmaster Jack Taverner , 68, (right) subjected his wife Elina Fragola to a savage beating when she confronted him on his mistress’s doorstep with proof they were having an affair.
Choirmaster Jack Taverner, 68, secretly moved in with his mistress, chorister Jean Munday, 72, (pictured) after moving out from his wife Elina Fragola amid allegations he had been cheating on her
Businesswoman Elina Fragola, 65, shows the black eye she sustained along with a fractured nose when she was attacked by choirmaster husband Jack Taverner, 68, after revealing she had a video of him being ‘intimate’ with chorister Jean Munday, 72
Appearing in court under his real name – Stephen Jack Kelsey – he admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to 10 months in jail suspended for 18 months.
He has since lost his choirmaster job and moved with Mrs Munday to Buxton, Derbyshire.
The choir itself – which performed at schools, concert halls and fetes in the area – has also been disbanded.
He and Ms Fragola had been embroiled in a ‘difficult marriage’ with Taverner frequently losing his temper and cheating on her, Chester Crown Court heard.
In the run-up to the assault Taverner denied having another affair but moved out, prosecutor Myles Wilson said.
However she then found videos of the pair ‘being intimate’, he said, leaving her feeling ‘hurt and angry’.
She therefore went round to Mrs Munday’s house to ‘confront’ her cheating husband, the court heard, and ask his lover ‘to tell her side of the story.’
Mrs Munday came to the hallway just as Ms Fragola was holding up the camera and asking her ‘to admit having an affair’.
Choirmaster Jack Taverner, 68, (right) pictured in happier times with wife Elina Fragola, 65, whom he went on to subject to a savage beating when she confronted him on his mistress’s doorstep with proof they were having an affair
Cheating choirmaster Jack Taverner – who uses a stage name – appeared in court under his real name, Stephen Jack Kelsey, to admit assault occasioning actual bodily harm for which he was sentenced to 10 months in jail, suspended for 18 months
Jack Taverner, 68, ran the ‘Can’t Sing Choir’ in the genteel market town of Sandbach, Cheshire, performing at schools, concert halls and fetes until being convicted of ABH after attacking his wife when she confronted him over an affair with a chorister, 72
Former bistro owner Elina Fragola, 65, shows the black eye she sustained along with a fractured nose when she was attacked by choirmaster husband Jack Taverner, 68, after revealing she had a video of him being ‘intimate’ with chorister Jean Munday, 72
Taverner told her to give it to him ‘but when she refused he grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall,’ Mr Wilson said.
As Mrs Munday ‘shouted’ at him to stop she was herself ‘knocked to the floor’ at which an ‘angry’ Taverner ‘went after’ his wife.
‘He pulled her by the arms and pushed her back into the house and threw her on the sofa,’ the prosecutor said.
‘He repeatedly punched her to the head, face and body, knocking her glasses off.’
The court heard Taverner – described by his wife as ‘being in a rage’ – only ‘came to his senses’ when she threatened to call the police.
She ran off and called police who arrested Taverner, with the choirmaster denying causing the injuries.
Ms Fragola suffered a broken nose, bruising to her right eye, a lump on her head, and bruises all over her body.
She told the court that the attack had ‘a profound and lasting impact on my physical health, emotional well-being and sense of safety’.
Cheating choirmaster Jack Taverner, 68, pictured outside Chester Crown Court where he was given a suspended sentence after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his wife, Elina Fragola, 65,when she confronted him over an affair with a widowed chorister
Elina Fragola, 65, who had been married to Jack Taverner for eight years, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks since the violent assault and branded her now ex-husband a ‘narcissist’ in an excoriating victim statement
Elina Fragola, 65, found ‘intimate’ footage of her cheating choirmaster husband Jack Taverner, 68, and his chorister mistress Jean Munday, 72, on a camera he owned but was attacked when she confronted him with the evidence
Cheating choirmaster Jack Taverner, 68, ‘lost his temper’ on being confronted over the intimate videos found by his wife but now ‘accepts he should have found other ways to deal with the matters, including discussions’ instead of attacking her, his barrister told the court
Cheating choirmaster Jack Taverner, 68, who also plays the violin, was also also ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work
Elina Fragola, 65, sustained a black eye and fractured nose when she was attacked by choirmaster husband Jack Taverner, 68, after revealing she had a video of him being ‘intimate’ with chorister Jean Munday, 72
Elina Fragola, 65, accused her choirmaster ex-husband Jack Taverner of ‘a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting and emotional abuse’ in court and branded him ‘a narcissist and never will change into a better person’
‘I have difficulty sleeping due to nightmares and I experience flashbacks of the horrendous attack,’ she added.
‘I remain fearful of him and what he might do in the future.’
She accused Taverner of ‘a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting and emotional abuse’.
‘I need to know that the justice system will protect me or any other woman from further harm.
‘To me he is a narcissist and never will change into a better person.’
In mitigation Taverner’s defence counsel Milena Bennet said he ‘lost his temper’ on being confronted over the intimate videos.
‘His actions were impulsive and reactive and he accepts he should have found other ways to deal with the matters, including discussions,’ she added.
Sentencing him, Judge Simon Berkson said: ‘You were violent towards her in a most inappropriate and dangerous way.
‘It was obvious to me that the circumstances have left a marked effect on Ms Fragola.’
Taverner was also ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,500 and handed a ten-year restraining order.
