Yahoo News Horrific injuries of woman, 23, beaten by boyfriend of eight years as he's jailed
Thomas Parry punched, choked, stamped on and humiliated girlfriend Jessica Davies, while their two-year-old son slept in the next room in Porthcawl, South Wales.
WARNING: Article contains graphic images
A woman has described how she felt “broken and worthless” after her controlling boyfriend launched a brutal attack on her, covering her body in bruises.
Thomas Parry punched, choked, stamped on and humiliated girlfriend Jessica Davies, while their two-year-old son slept in the next room.
Davies, 23, met factory worker Parry when she was 15 and believed he was a gentle giant who would look after her.
But she was subjected to eight years of controlling behaviour, leaving Davies “believing he was going to kill me”.
She was just a schoolgirl when she started dating 23-stone Parry who, at 6ft, towered over her 5ft 3 inch frame.
But far from being the love of her life, Davies said Parry, then 21, started controlling her every move over the next eight years – before a horrifying attack that left police shocked.
Davies said: "I felt physically and emotionally powerless and I thought the only way out was death.
"Either he was going to kill me or I'd take my own life."
After violently attacking Davies, Parry told her that things could “get way, way, way worse”.
Injury pictures show Davies’ legs, arms and back covered in bruises, leaving barely any skin visible on her left limb.
Parry smashed her face and stamped on her body as their toddler son lay sick with chickenpox in a nearby bedroom.
Davies, now 23, claims she was so terrified of her partner, now 29, that she set up a fake email account to write a letter saying goodbye to their son after the assault.
She said: “I really believed he was going to kill me. He was a hulk of a man. He was absolutely savage.
"He tried to dehumanise me in every way he could. He told me nobody could stop him. He spat on me and tipped a tin of talcom powder all over me.
"I was in so much pain for his beating and I begged him to let me sleep in our bed but he wouldn't allow and made me sleep on the floor like an animal.
“He then kept me in the house for two weeks so nobody could see my bruises and forced me to tell my family I had COVID so they couldn’t visit and see my injuries.”
Parry carried out his attack in August 2022, shortly after the pair had reconciled after a brief split where Davies had started dating someone new.
Davies said Parry attacked her after quizzing her about the man she was dating during their split.
Recalling the attack, Davies said: “The pain was so horrific my body went numb. I was in so much pain I couldn't feel it anymore.
"My body was black and blue all over from the bruises. He hit me so hard in the face there was blood everywhere from my nose and it went all over the walls as he forced me into the shower to wash the blood away.
"When I saw myself in the mirror I barely recognised myself. I could barely walk and I hurt so badly. I was in absolute agony.”
Davies eventually fled her home in Porthcawl, South Wales, before telling the police about the abuse she was subjected to.
Parry was jailed for four years in March, with half the sentence to be served on licence.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he had 14 previous convictions for offences including common assault.
Davies is now hoping she can help inspire other women to leave abusive relationships.
For help and advice on domestic abuse, you can contact organisations including Women’s Aid and Refuge.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Domestic violence against women: the facts
1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. (Read more from domestic violence charity Refuge)
The police receive a domestic abuse related call every 30 seconds, but it is estimated this is less than a quarter of all domestic abuse carried out in the UK.
93% of defendants in domestic abuse cases are male; 84% of victims are female but women are three times more likely to be arrested for incidents of abuse.
It is thought 6.9% women experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022; this equates to an estimated 1.7 million women. Around 95% of people who reach out for support from domestic abuse are women. (Read more from the Office for National Statistics)
Women in households with an income of less than £10,000 were 3.5 times more at risk than those in households with an income of over £20,000. (Read more from domestic violence charity Safe Lives)
