'I burst in to tears over what this man did to me'

A teen revealed she struggles sleeping at night after what a man she met on the dating app Hinge did to her. Mark Henderson was jailed yesterday after he imprisoned a woman in his flat and stabbed her.

Henderson of Albert Road in Southport met the 18-year-old on the app before having a casual sexual relationship with her when he invited her around to his flat in the afternoon of July 26, 2024. However, the teenager, who the ECHO has not named due to legal reasons, was subjected to a prolonged ordeal when Henderson became paranoid in his drug-induced state and refused to let her leave.

Over the course of a terrifying 24 hours, Henderson took her phone due to what he said were fears she was recording him and was going to blackmail him before repeatedly stabbing her with a large kitchen knife. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told Henderson that he was a dangerous man and imposed an extended sentence on licence to protect the public from him. Opening the case, Paul Treble, prosecuting, said the defendant's brother Andrew Henderson received a phone call at around 5.10pm on July 27 last year.

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The defendant told him: "She has attacked me and I have stabbed her back. I might have killed her." Henderson's other brother Jason was also called and when he arrived at the defendant's flat, on Albert Road in Southport, he saw his pupils were dilated and "he had the appearance that he was on drugs".

An ambulance was called and when paramedics arrived Henderson told them: "I'm not a threat to you. Can you get in, she is dying." The court heard he appeared to be in drug-induced psychosis and was holding a knife. He claimed he had been attacked by the complainant with a bottle and a drill and had told her "I will have to kill you now".

The victim was taken to hospital by the air ambulance at 6.45pm. The defendant was also taken to hospital and told the police "I took the knife off her and tried to kill her". When the victim was interviewed a week later, she told officers that she had gone to the defendant's house on July 26 but he appeared paranoid and was convinced that she was going to blackmail him. She explained how the defendant was taking lines of cocaine every 20 minutes, while she had a couple when she arrived. When she tried to leave he told her: "You are going to live with me and feel how it means to be me."

During his imprisonment of her, Henderson slapped her across the face. He would later go on to charge towards her with the knife, resulting in the victim smashing a wine bottle and holding it in front of her to halt him. The victim also picked up a drill in an attempt to keep the defendant away, the court heard. She suffered multiple stab wounds, including to her head and a serious wound to her leg which resulted in her collapsing due to blood loss.

In a harrowing victim impact statement read to the court, the teenager said she struggled to sleep at night due to nightmares. She said: "I will wake crying and sweating." She added: "I will burst into tears because of the trauma I have suffered." She added she also has a fear of knives, "feels really vulnerable" and struggles being out alone. She has also not returned to Southport due to the trauma she suffered and deferred her place at university until next year.

Henderson, who wore a Berghaus bodywarmer and sported a shaved head and tattooed neck and face, was sentenced to nine years in prison, with an extended five years on licence. Judge Brandon also imposed a restraining order to stop him contacting his victim or entering the area where she lives. Henderson, who was supported in court by his ex-partner, held his face in his hands as he learnt his fate.