Woman begs staff to save her from thug
A woman battered by her boyfriend begged hospital staff not to tell police he was to blame.
Another confrontation with brutal Paul Bevins the next day led to the anguished woman sticking her fist through a window.
She went back to hospital and had nine stitches put in her hand.
Bevins, 24, was jailed for eight months at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday.
He admitted twice assaulting the woman in Dalzieltower, Motherwell, last September and spitting at two police officers.
Paula Russell, prosecuting, told Hamilton Sheriff Court trouble flared after the victim went to the shops, locking Bevins in the flat. He was sleeping after taking valium.
The fiscal explained: “When she returned he confronted her about locking him in.
“She was extremely frightened and tried to explain, but the accused’s temper flared.
“She describes the next 10 to 15 minutes as a blur. He punched and kicked her repeatedly. Blows were raining down on her.
“Sometimes she was on her feet, sometimes on the floor, curled up like a ball as she tried to protect herself. She was petrified and screaming for help.
“At one point she escaped from the bedroom and made for the front door, but Bevins caught her, grabbed her by the throat and dragged her back to the bedroom.
“They struggled and she managed to escape to a neighbouring flat where she asked for an ambulance.
“The neighbour saw her head was bleeding and she was being sick.
“When paramedics arrived the victim said no domestic incident had taken place and that she had hit her head in the landing area.
“She was taken to University Hospital Wishaw where she disclosed that her injuries were a result of an assault by Bevins, but requested they did not pass this information on to the police.”
The victim returned to her flat only for Bevins to arrive the next day. Ms Russell said that he began to cry when he saw the state his girlfriend was in, but soon became abusive towards her.
She added:“the woman banged her fist against the bedroom window and this caused a wound which began to bleed heavily.
“She ran towards a neighbour’s flat upstairs, but Bevins grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back down the stairwell.”
Ms Russell said the victim had suffered “numerous”cuts and bruises to her head, face, arms, legs and back, but Bevins at this time denied being responsible, telling cops:“ask her. She knows and she’ll tell you.”
Defence agent Diarmid Bruce said Ms Corry has a “history of self-harming” but acknowledged his client’s behaviour had been“unacceptable”.
He claimed both had been drinking and taking drugs, and their relationship had “disintegrated”.
Sheriff Ray Small noted that Bevins had a“bad” record but no previous convictions for domestic matters.