Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Domestic Abuse
Jason McLean, 36, was jailed for fourteen years after he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Nottingham Crown Court, after he violently attacked his ex-girlfriend.
‘One of the worst domestic violence cases’
In a case police branded ‘one of the worst domestic violence cases ever seen… in Britain’, Suzanne Thomas, 33, was brutally attacked by McLean in her own home.
McLean broke into her house the day after she ended their relationship and held Miss Thomas at knifepoint. He then proceeded to kick her to the floor where he repeatedly stamped on her head, before pouring a kettle filled with boiling water all over Miss Thomas.
The mother-of-two suffered life changing 27% burns over large sections of her body – including her arms, stomach, legs and crotch – after being doused with the scalding water.
Alarmingly, as she lay on the floor, McLean attempted to refill the kettle and boil more water, presumably to pour over his victim again. However, a friend of Miss Thomas was also in the house at the time of the attack and managed to flag down a passing police vehicle. McLean caught wind of this and fled the scene.
After being rushed to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, Miss Thomas spent three weeks recovering. Doctors said at the time that if McLean had managed to pour another lot of boiling water over her, she would have most likely not survived the severity of the burns.
Threatened in hospital
The offender was on the run for some time, before he managed to acquire information as to which hospital Miss Thomas was receiving treatment at. He paid her a visit at the hospital, where he threatened her, saying:
‘You haven’t seen anything yet – if you think this is bad see what comes next.’
Thankfully, McLean was arrested in 2014 after handing himself into a local police station. He was not successful in carrying out his threat and is serving fourteen years in prison. Detective Inspector Peter Queen said of the case:
‘This is one of the most horrific cases of domestic violence I have seen and the injuries to Suzanne will leave scars for the rest of her life.
‘Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there for Suzanne or for anyone who is a victim of abuse as the psychological scars run just as deep.’
Rebuilding her life
Following the incident, Suzanne moved to Skegness, Lincolnshire, where she is trying to rebuild her life with her two young daughters. The extent of her burns was so severe that she is still receiving treatment for her injuries and she requires daily application of cream, along with regular painkillers.
To add to this, Miss Thomas is unable to come into contact with chlorinated water and if she is to have any exposure to the sun, she must wear an extremely high factor sun screen. Miss Thomas has said of her ordeal:
‘It was absolutely the worst pain I have ever been in. It felt like someone was ripping sheets of skin off me – but slowly.
‘He was in a complete rage – staring straight through me. He was in a total and blind rage.
‘At first I was angry, and then after seeing him smirking in court all I wanted was to see him get a good sentence – and I think he did.
‘What Jason did to me that night has completely changed my life – I can’t even face having a bath as a fear of water still haunts me.
‘I don’t feel ashamed and I don’t feel angry anymore; I just feel sad. I feel sad that a man could do that to someone.
‘I couldn’t do that to my worst enemy.’
Miss Thomas recalled:
‘I was trying to calm him down, but he just wasn’t hearing it.
‘He started kicking me and I fell to the ground and he carried on with the kicking, and stamping on my head.
‘That’s when I don’t know if I passed out briefly because when I went to sit up he was holding a kettle above me.
‘He poured that directly on my lap, all down my legs and my stomach.
‘I was screaming.
‘He said ‘do you want another one?’ and he went back to the kitchen, but that’s when the police came.
‘I went straight into shock and then it felt freezing cold. The pain was horrific.’
Criminal Injury – Expert Advice
We understand that if you have been subjected to an act of violence, your thoughts will turn to making a full recovery – compensation will likely be the last thing on your mind.
There is, however, a government Scheme that provides compensation to victims or their families who have been the innocent victims of violent crime. The Scheme is called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and is governed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
If you would like expert advice on this type of case, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6 888 or email
Source: Mail Online
