By Will Tillotson

Published at 11:26, Monday, 24 December 2012

A WOMAN has spoken about the abusive partner who tried to kill her.

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As the police campaign against domestic violence is stepped up this Christmas, Emma Wilson, 31, has spoken of her ex-partner, who was jailed for 17 years last year.

The term was made indeterminate following an appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Emma was in the relationship with David Heslop for 12 years. She said she was attacked on a regular basis.

“He broke my nose, gave me black eyes, smashed the windows of my house, slashed my dad’s car tyres,” she said. “When I tried to shut him out of the house he’d just break in and attack me again.

“He had a restraining order stopping him from approaching me and ended up in prison after he breached it.”

The violence escalated until, in December 2010, Heslop stabbed Emma as she sat in the bath.

She said: “We’d been separated for months. I was frightened and would always check someone’s identity before letting anyone in the house. I told my son not to let anyone in and we always kept the door locked. That night my son had some friends round and when he [Heslop] came round they let him in without realising. He came into the bathroom carrying a knife and told me it was my last night, and I knew he meant it.”

Heslop stabbed Emma six times, puncturing her lung.

Speaking today about the horrific events, Emma, of Cleator Moor, says she is still affected by what happened to her and that Heslop is still trying to control her from prison.

“After the attack, he sent me a card with a picture of a woman in a bath saying ‘get well soon’. He’s still not admitted what he did. He sent me another letter saying he was inciting other prisoners to come and harm me when they get released. The police are very supportive, though I wish they had got involved in all this sooner”.

It was a difficult situation for those trying to support Emma during the abusive relationship. She would make a complaint and then drop the charges. Her parents would encourage her to take Heslop to court but she didn’t.

“My mum and dad were suffering through all this too. I’m in another relationship now. He’s the opposite of what I was used to but I still have a slight fear, what if he turns on me? It never goes away. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though. You’ve just got to carry on.”

Emma says she used to ‘hate’ her former partner but now that has changed.

She said: “It’s a waste of a feeling, isn’t it. Now I just feel sorry for him. He’s the one missing out on his, and his son’s, life.”

Emma’s message to anyone in a similar situation to her own is clear. “Get out before it’s too late. Once they hit you and start controlling you, it’s time to go.”

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk