‘TONIGHT’S The NIGHT YOU die’
‘Perfect’ boyfriend turned violent Beaten at 7 months pregnant New mum left for dead
Pain exploded as my boyfriend Kris’ fist smashed into my face. It was March 2015, and I’d stormed out after a petty row. But Kris had chased after me. Then… Crunch! He hit me. Sobbing, I held my face. ‘I’m sorry,’ Kris muttered. ‘But if you hadn’t run off, I wouldn’t have snapped.’
In the six months we’d dated, Kris, then 21, hadn’t shown any signs of violence.
Was it my fault? I thought. We’d got together at a Halloween party in 2014 – Kris was quiet, shy. And gorgeous!
He was into martial arts, protective. We’d fallen in love and things were perfect. Until now.
Next morning, we pretended it’d never happened. But I couldn’t hide my black eye.
‘I hit it on the headboard,’ I lied to my mum, Jaclyn, 37.
Manipulated
It was a one-off, I told myself. But Kris became controlling, told me who I could speak to.
We’d row, and one day in May 2015, Kris flipped again, gave me another black eye. I was distraught, scared. But Kris manipulated me into thinking I’d pushed him to it.
That July, we discovered I was pregnant. A happy surprise!
Things will be different now, I thought.
Wrong!
On Boxing Day 2015, Kris started a row over a colleague I’d added on Facebook.
He jumped on the bed as I curled up, protectively cradling my 7-month bump. ‘The baby,’ I sobbed.
Kris didn’t care as he left me with another black eye.
Heavily pregnant, I felt trapped, and when Kris dished out another beating I feared I’d miscarry.
I was miserable, terrified. In January last year, I went into labour five weeks early and Leo was born by emergency Caesarean, weighing 5lb 15oz.
Doctors couldn’t say why he was premature.
‘It could be stress,’ one suggested.
If I only dared tell them, I thought, sadly.
Kris acted the doting dad, moved in with me and Mum.
But the novelty wore off and he’d refuse to change a nappy.
‘You do it,’ he’d bark. Then, one day when Leo was 3 weeks old, Kris hit me.
Mum heard us rowing, walked in just after.
‘He punched me,’ I sobbed. Furious, Mum kicked him out of the house.
Abducted
Over the next few weeks, Kris sent obsessive, grovelling texts.
Then, one night in April last year, Mum babysat Leo so I could go out with friends.
All night, Kris bombarded me with texts, calls. I ignored
him, but eventually, back home, I answered.
‘Where are you?’ Kris screamed. He told me to meet him at the end of the street.
‘Or I’ll come to the house,’ he threatened.
Worried for my sleeping family, I walked over in my PJS. ‘Get in the car,’ Kris barked. I did, only, he snatched my phone, read my texts.
‘Where’ve you been?’ he asked.
‘In the house,’ I replied.
‘Liar!’ he shouted, zooming off.
He started punching me as he sped down streets.
‘Please let me go,’
I begged.
‘No, I’m going to kill you,’ he said. ‘Tonight’s the night you die.’ Terrifying. Then the car broke down. Enraged, Kris dragged me out by my throat.
I blacked out, awoke to Kris kicking and punching me on the ground.
Weeping quietly, I tried to stay still, until finally Kris walked away, left me for dead.
Only, he saw me move, came back, dragged me up the street. Taking me to finish the job. ‘Think about Leo,’ I cried. ‘I don’t give a sh*t,’ Kris spat. He dragged me to a house, told the owners he’d rescued me from a pub fight.
They called us a taxi and Kris left the room.
‘He did this to me,’ I sobbed.
They stared, shocked, too scared of Kris to help.
So when the taxi arrived, I raced out the back door. Running to the nearest house, I pounded on the door. ‘Let me in, please,’ I pleaded. Finally, the door opened. I wept with relief when I saw an old friend’s parents.
They called an ambulance, and I was raced to University Hospital Crosshouse.
Mum was called, I gave a statement and Kris was arrested.
I was covered in bruises, face swollen, sore, teeth chipped.
Slowly, I healed, but Mum had to help with Leo. Thankfully, he was too young to understand.
More attacks
In August last year, Kris Auld, 22, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of threatening and abusive behaviour, abduction and assault to severe injury and robbery for the April attack.
Auld was jailed for three years and nine months.
But then two of his ex-girlfriends came forward about other violent attacks.
I gave a statement about the other times Auld had hit me.
At a trial this May, Auld was convicted of two more counts of threatening and abusive behaviour and three of assault to injury between 2010 and 2016, plus contempt of court after throwing water over the jury.
He was jailed for five years, to run consecutively to his first sentence.
Kris Auld is a very violent, dangerous woman beater.
It took a sickening assault for me to see that, and I still suffer anxiety, depression. But now he’ll be locked up for a long time.
Leo, 18 months, is an angel. We’re better off without him.
I awoke to Kris kicking, punching me on the ground How could He do this to the mum of His boy?