Footage of Stefan Carr using a rope to fashion a noose. Video / Supplied
WARNING: Distressing content
A young mother has spoken out about how she was tortured for hours by her boyfriend and threatened with murder in a bid to encourage other women in violent relationships to seek help.
Bethany Marchant, 24, was violently attacked by her boyfriend Stefan Carr, 28, when she tried to leave him in May this year.
Carr, who was a former soldier, had just confessed to cheating on her, but when Marchant tried to leave his home in Castleford, West Yorkshire, he "completely flipped" and locked her inside.
"He took my phone and the keys to my car and locked me in his house. For the next three hours, he pushed me from room to room and put a pillowcase over my face at one point," Marchant wrote in a first-person account of the attack for Sky News.
"He put his hands around my throat so I couldn't breathe. He was shouting at me with a knife in his hand and threatening to kill me and hurt my son."
Carr then proceeded to torture her with a rope in horrific scenes that were captured on CCTV inside their home.
"He told me that he was a trained killer and he didn't want to be 'that' person, but I was making him that person," Ms Marchant said.
She feared her "little two-year-old son would never see his mum again".
"I wanted to die then, simply because I didn't want the pain to carry on," she said.
HOW NEIGHBOURS SAVED HER LIFE
Marchant said after hours of torture, she eventually convinced Carr to take her to the hospital.
"I told him: 'Look I won't tell anybody. I'll tell them that I've been beaten up in town. Whatever you want me to say, I'll say'," she said.
CCTV cameras captured the attack inside Stefan Carr's home. Photo / West Yorkshire Police
He then loaded her into his van and pulled away from the house, but told her he was going to drown her in a nearby reservoir.
That's when his neighbours, who had heard Marchant's screams, called police.
"He shoved me in the back of his van, but luckily the neighbours saw. They had already heard my screams and phoned the police, but when they saw me outside they called again," Marchant said.
Marchant then managed to escape the van and run towards police when they arrived.
'I DON'T WANT SYMPATHY'
Carr was sentenced to 11 years and three months in jail for the attack, as well as another attack on a previous partner, on September 23.
CCTV cameras he had installed inside his home had captured the assault on video.
On Facebook, Marchant said she was relieved he was now locked away and couldn't hurt anyone else, but she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had a long road to recovery ahead of her.
"Truth is I'm broken and struggling, but that's OK because soon I'll be back stronger than ever," she said.
Stefan Carr was a former soldier. Photo / West Yorkshire Police
In a sombre warning to other women, she said she had never expected Carr would hurt her and urged other women to seek help if they were in a violent relationship.
"I wasn't in an abusive relationship. This was one terrible, vile, evil event. But unfortunately I'm not the first," she said.
She also thanked his neighbours for saving her life.
"To the neighbours: you have saved my life and I am eternally grateful," she wrote.
If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you. • Run outside and head for where there are other people. • Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you. • Take the children with you. • Don't stop to get anything else. • If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay
Where to go for help or more information:
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz • Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz • It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz • Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584 • Ministry of Justice: www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice/domestic-violence • National Network of Stopping Violence: www.nnsvs.org.nz • White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women, focusing this year on sexual violence and the issue of consent. www.whiteribbon.org.nz
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