'Dangerous' man told teen he met on Hinge: 'I will have to kill you now'
A "dangerous" man met a teenager on Hinge and stopped her leaving his flat before saying "I will have to kill you now". Mark Henderson, 38, met the 18-year-old woman on the dating app and the pair had been having a casual sexual relationship when he invited her around to his flat on the afternoon of July 26 2024.
However, the teenager, who the ECHO is not naming because of 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 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 to protect him from the public. 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 said the defendant had taken a lot of cocaine and continued to have a line every 20 minutes while she had a couple when she arrived. Concerned about his escalating behaviour, she tried to leave but he told her: "You are going to live with me and feel how it means to be me".
The court heard the defendant's paranoia involved the amount of taxis on his road and offered to drive her back to her home on the Wirral. However, she told him that he would have to be sober to drive. The court heard the pair had sex with the victim hoping this might encourage the defendant to let her go.
She asked to leave but Henderson refused again. She eventually went to bed but described a disturbed night. When she woke the defendant was in possession of a knife and had confiscated her phone. He then told her she was "going to live or die by her responses".
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.
The victim would suffer multiple stab wounds during the attack, including to her head and a serious wound to her leg that resulted in her collapsing in the bathroom due to blood loss. The court heard the false imprisonment did not happen the whole time she was at Henderson's flat, but covered around a 24 hour period finishing when the police arrived and she was taken to hospital.
Mr Treble told the court that sexual activity went on while she was at the flat but no charges were brought in relation to this and the prosecution did not contest the decision. Henderson, who was initially charged with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to section 18 wounding with intent and false imprisonment at his plea and trial preparation hearing.
In a 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.
The court heard the defendant had five convictions for 10 offences including a prison sentence for grievous bodily harm, possession of MDMA and cocaine and assaulting an emergency worker.
Andy Scott, defending, told the court: "On any reading of this case it's highly unlikely we will come across a set of circumstances like this again". He said his mitigation for Henderson was focused on four points - his views on the guidelines, his client's credit for guilty plea, his personal mitigation and the issues of dangerousness.
Mr Scott said while his client's 2009 conviction for GBH bore no similarity to the case he was to be sentenced for today. However, he accepted the 2021 conviction for assaulting a police officer had a similarity in its background due to Henderson's use of drugs and alcohol. Mr Scott said there was a similar "escalation" between the two offences.
Mr Scott said: "The defendant recognises that personal mitigation in an offence of this seriousness is very little. The character references show a completely different side to this defendant. They separate the man from the offences. It's clear that drugs are this defendant's demon. Yes, he has mental health issues. They are documented, from the death of his father to the death of his friend.
"He knows he has mental health problems and when he takes drugs they aggravate and amplify his mental health. There is a downward spiral - it happened in 2021 and it's happened again. It's down to him - no one else can stop him taking cocaine. Only he can do that."
Mr Scott added: "He acknowledges he must engage with the assistance available to him to address the issue. Whilst on remand he has adopted a positive attitude and shown some determination to address his mental health and use of drugs." The court heard Henderson had written a letter where "he expressed genuine remorse to the victim and her family and his brothers". Mr Scott said: "It's only whilst he's had the cold light of day that he can sit back with a measure of clarity."
Addressing the court regarding his client's dangerousness, Mr Scott acknowledged that a pre-sentence report had found Henderson posed a high risk of serious harm to the public and known adults, these being former and future partners. Mr Scott said his client only been convicted of one previous violent offence in different circumstances and there was no evidence of violence while on remand. He told the court: "Further work will be done while he is in custody and on licence. The court could conclude that a standard determinate sentence could deal with the risk and protect the public."
Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon told Henderson, who appeared to the court via video link to HMP Liverpool on crutches and sat with his head bowed for much of the hearing, that she would award him 25% reduction in his final sentence. But she said it was a "prolonged and persistent assault" that included the defendant chasing his victim when she attempted to escape before stabbing her. The judge told him his victim "thought she was going to die and when she reached the bathroom she thought she was dying".
She told Henderson that she was satisfied that despite his mitigation that he still posed a risk of causing serious harm. When questioning if a determinate sentence was appropriate, she said: "I do not think it will be enough to protect the public from the harm you can do."
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.