Crime

Domestic abuse victims explains difficulty leaving abusive partner

Published

2 years ago

December 18, 2023

A WOMAN who suffered years of emotional control and physical assaults at the hands of her partner has opened up about the difficulty of leaving an abusive relationship.

While it can be easy for those on the outside to ask ‘why don’t you just leave’, there are often fears around housing, money, or the impact leaving might have on children. And as Jess explains, someone who has been abused might still have a form of connection with their abuser, or has been manipulated into thinking they have changed.

Jess has spoken out about three years of emotional and physical abuse as part of Dyfed-Powys Police’s winter campaign, which aims to empower those living with domestic abuse, stalking or harassment to report incidents and find support.

When Jess started a relationship with her ex-partner, she admits there were early – if subtle – signs of abusive behaviour, which stemmed from his jealousy. While friends picked up on these behaviours, Jess would be told by her partner that they were ‘interfering’.

“He always convinced me that he was just emotional due to the strength of his feelings for me and that he obviously didn’t mean the nastier things he said under the influence of alcohol,” she said.

“My friends tried to tell me the relationship could have been considered abusive, but I was deeply in denial.”

Over time, the abuse Jess faced escalated. She was called derogatory names, emotionally controlled, and was repeatedly accused of being unfaithful. If she spent time away from home, her partner wanted constant contact.

“Time spent with friends would always result in abuse when I went back home, so there were times when I decided that it wasn’t worth it,” she said.

“He would constantly question me on what I was doing and my feelings towards him, he went through my phone behind my back, read my diary and would use entries from the past against me.

“For some months, despite his emotionally abusive behaviour, I always believed he would never physically hurt me.”

The emotional abuse did lead to physical assaults, however, and Jess was subject to attacks and threats. Following one incident she took the brave step in calling Dyfed-Powys Police after fleeing with her phone.

“For once I had physical evidence in the form of a cut, so I thought I would be taken more seriously, rather than it being just his word against mine,” she said. “Until then I had always felt as though anything within my relationship was my own mess to sort out.”

Jess learned that she had been the victim of domestic abuse in the form of controlling and coercive behaviour for two years.

“I was surprised when the police said I’d described one of the more serious situations of domestic abuse they’d ever encountered, based on just how much I’d come to accept as normal,” she said.

“Up to this point I had felt embarrassed for involving the police and assumed they’d dismiss it because I didn’t have serious physical injuries.”

Jess’s abuser was arrested and charged with assault.

Despite this, she was manipulated into restarting their relationship a few short months later, with promises that he had changed. However, she suffered another year of abuse before calling it off once more.

While they are now separated, and Jess knows he poses a danger to her, she fears she might never be free from him.

“I feel massively emotionally affected and traumatised by our time together,” she said.

“He’s still contacting me on a daily basis trying to win me back. I’d rather have no contact with him at all, but he keeps talking me round to it. I respond to this because part of me has been conditioned to please him to avoid the abuse.

“Sometimes I fear I will never truly escape him – and that my remaining friends will abandon me to this fate.”

While Jess appreciates how difficult it is to speak out, she hopes that reading her story might be the push someone needs to seek help.

“I always liked to think of myself as a strong, intelligent, independent woman and never imagined I would find myself in this sort of situation, but it really can happen to anyone,” she said.

“It’s not your fault. The only person who should feel shame in an abusive relationship is the abuser.”

If any of Jess’s story resonates with you, or you need to report domestic abuse, stalking or harassment, you can contact Dyfed-Powys Police in the following ways:

Report online: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline
Email: [email protected]

Call: 101

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908
In an emergency, always call 999.

If you feel you need support in contacting police, there are organisations that can help you. Click here to find them, or search online for Live Fear Free, Women’s Aid or the National Stalking Helpline – all of which have free helplines available.

Crime

Man accused of Milford Haven burglary and GBH remanded to Crown Court

Published

11 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Court Reporter

A MILFORD HAVEN man has appeared in court charged with burglary and inflicting grievous bodily harm, following an incident at a flat in the town earlier this week.

Charged after alleged attack inside Victoria Road flat

Stephen Collier, aged thirty-eight, of Vaynor Road, Milford Haven, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court today (Friday, Dec 5). Collier is accused of entering a property known as Nos Da Flat, 2 Victoria Road, on December 3 and, while inside, inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man named John Hilton.

The court was told the alleged burglary and assault was carried out jointly with another man, Denis Chmelevski.

The charge is brought under section 9(1)(b) of the Theft Act 1968, which covers burglary where violence is inflicted on a person inside the property.

No plea entered

Collier, represented by defence solicitor Chris White, did not enter a plea during the hearing. Prosecutor Simone Walsh applied for the defendant to be remanded in custody, citing the serious nature of the offence, the risk of further offending, and concerns that he could interfere with witnesses.

Magistrates Mr I Howells, Mr V Brickley and Mrs H Meade agreed, refusing bail and ordering that Collier be kept in custody before trial.

Case sent to Swansea Crown Court

The case was sent to Swansea Crown Court under Section 51 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Collier will next appear on January 5, 2026 at 9:00am for a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing.

A custody time limit has been set for June 5, 2026.

Chmelevski is expected to face proceedings separately.

Crime

Prosecution delivers powerful closing speech in Christopher Phillips trial

Published

15 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Jury expected to retire shortly in Swansea Crown Court baby abuse case

THE TRIAL of Christopher Phillips, accused of inflicting catastrophic injuries on a 10-week-old baby in Haverfordwest, moved into its final stages today (Dec 5) as the last evidence was heard and the prosecution delivered a forceful closing speech at Swansea Crown Court.

***Christopher Phillips: Told the court earlier this week that he was “proud” of his appearance.***

Phillips, 34, of Kiln Park in Burton, is charged with causing serious physical and sexual harm to Baby C in January 2021. The infant was taken by ambulance to Glangwili Hospital in the early hours of January 24 after suffering life-threatening internal injuries.

The baby’s mother faces separate charges of allowing serious physical harm and child cruelty for allegedly failing to protect her child.

Final evidence presented

The court resumed at 11:09am, when the prosecution submitted its final exhibit: a detailed timeline reconstructed from Phillips’ mobile phone data, charting his visits to the mother’s flat in Haverfordwest.

Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC highlighted the distances between Phillips’ home, the mother’s address and Glangwili Hospital, telling the jury that the timings were central to understanding the sequence of events that night.

This concluded the evidential phase of the trial.

Judge issues legal directions

Late this morning (Friday, Dec 5) Judge Paul Thomas KC delivered his directions to the jury, outlining the legal tests required for convictions against both Phillips and the child’s mother. He reminded jurors to consider each charge separately and to apply the law only to the evidence they had heard.

Prosecution closing speech

In her closing address at early this afternoon, Rees KC told the jury that 10-week-old Baby C had been a “happy little baby” who showed “no signs of distress” in a video recorded by his father on January 23, 2021.

She said that within hours, by the early morning of January 24, the infant was in hospital with what she described as a “gaping tear in his anus”.

Rees KC argued that the evidence of who caused the injuries “points in one way – towards Christopher Phillips”.

Turning to the baby’s mother, she said the prosecution’s case was that she was “not without blame”, telling the jury that the mother had “failed in her duty to keep her baby safe”.

“She at the very least ought to have realised that her baby was at serious risk from the man she brought into her home,” Rees KC said. “She didn’t take any steps to keep that baby safe. She prioritised Christopher Phillips over her own child.”

Jury expected to retire

No defence closing speech was delivered today, that will be on Monday.

No further evidence is scheduled.

The jury is expected to retire early next week to begin its deliberations.

The case continues at Swansea Crown Court.

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

1 day ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.