‘It was like something from a horror movie – I thought I was going to die that night’
Domestic abuse survivor speaks out
AMUM thought she had met her dream partner but within months he was threatening to kill her in a Southport hotel.
Karla Wilson, 38, who works as an NHS administrator, met Lewis Greenwood through mutual friends.
They began messaging each other on Facebook, and Greenwood initially showered Karla with praise.
He seemed to be a man that Karla, a mum-of-one, could have a future with. Looking back, she can now see where the warning signs were.
Karla said: “At the beginning it was nice but when I look back, there were a lot of red flags.
“He love-bombed me, he’d write me letters and ring and text me every day. He’d turn up at my gym. He was obsessed with me – and not in a nice way.
“He knew everything about my life. He’d been looking at my Facebook for years. He lied about his age and lied about his name – I knew him as Lewis Seaz. He was very good at manipulating.
“He isolated me from friends and family, saying it was just me and him against the world. He talked about our future and made me feel like I was the woman for him but it was very controlling, like ‘do you want to have another baby’, but I’d only known him a few months. I didn’t know him at all really.
“He said all his exes were psychos, but it was him who was the psycho.
“My dad plays in a band and one night we went to see them. He was horrible to me in front of my parents. I got up to dance, and said ‘come on Mum, we’ll have a dance’. He said, ‘you won’t. The bass player keeps staring at you. You dare stand up, I’ll kill you’.
“I wasn’t allowed to do anything. I got slapped around the face for looking at a man who was wearing a bright yellow top – but it was eye catching. I was bound to look. I didn’t even dare go shopping for food.”
Throughout their relationship, Greenwood – who Karla said was “big into steroids” – would go through her phone, deleting people from her social media while she was asleep. He became violent in front of her friends, once smashing a can into her face while they were out.
Karla said: “That was the first time he hit me. He bust my nose up but then said sorry and blamed it on being drunk.”
However it was a few months before the police became involved. Karla said: “The third time he attacked me, my dog must have done a poo in the living room. We were arguing and I couldn’t get away fast enough.
“He picked up my daughter’s scarf and I thought he was going to strangle me with it. Then he picked up the poo from the floor and rubbed it in my face.
“I was on the phone to my sister, screaming. It was her who had him arrested but he came back crying and silly me agreed to try and sort things out.”
On August 5, 2023, Karla planned a romantic spa break to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday. They spent the day enjoying the facilities, but as they drank Prosecco, Greenwood’s mood began to change.
Karla said: “He started being nasty to the waiters, saying ‘I don’t want my cake, take it away’. I could just sense that things were going to kick off. I said I didn’t want to go back to the hotel. The next thing I remember was waking up in the footwell of the car.
“He grabbed hold of my hand and bit all my knuckles open. He chased me out of the car and pretended to hug me, but he was biting his teeth into my ear. I was screaming, but no sound was coming out.
“Then he forced me into the hotel, which was like an Airbnb above a bar. He started drinking shots straight away but I knew what would be coming. I only had one drink because I knew I had to be on top form.
“We had an argument and he pinned me to the bed saying he was going to gouge my eye balls. He said horrible things, like he spoke to the devil who told him to kill me every day.
“I put my phone on charge, thinking as soon as he went to bed I’d call someone to come and get me but he started drinking again and I knew I needed to get out.
“He chased after me and dragged me back by my hair. He caused loads of damage to the hotel, ripping slates up. He was screaming, saying he’d kill me and kill my dog, he’d hurt my little girl, he’d kill himself and make it look like I’d done it – horrible, nasty things.
“I was screaming and crying. The person in the next room must have called the police. Lewis set the fire alarm off in a rage then started blaming me, saying I’d done it. He’d left the keys in the room and he was banging on every door, trying to get their keys, which of course wouldn’t have worked for our room anyway.”
Luckily, help was on its way for Karla, who feared she may not survive Greenwood’s raging temper.
She said: “A man and a woman approached us, and I was whispering ‘can you help me?’ The man distracted him and the woman got me to her room. It was like something from a horror movie. I thought I was going to die that night.”
Greenwood was arrested and remanded in custody. He was charged with intentional strangulation and assault by beating, but denied what he had done until the first day he was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Karla said: “It was just another way to control me. It ruined my Christmas, thinking I was going to have to go to court in January to give evidence.
“The couple who helped me at the hotel agreed to be witnesses. I am so grateful to them – I really want to thank them because I dread to think what could have happened if they hadn’t been there.”
On February 27, Greenwood was sentenced to 21 months in prison and handed a 10 year restraining order to keep Karla safe.
Karla hopes telling her story will help other women recognise red flags in a relationship and give them the courage to speak out against abusers.
She said: “I want people to know they can speak out. If a man ever so much as raises his hand to you, it will only get worse.
“Witness Care has been fantastic with me, coming with me to court and taking care of everything. My IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate) has been amazing.
“I had physical injuries from the attack at the hotel, which have healed but the mental scars are still there. I have not been able to go back to work since it happened, and I had just started my Masters, which is now on hold. It has been life changing for me.
“I don’t think I will ever trust a man again. He is a monster. I put all my trust in him – I really did love him but he showed me that not everyone is who they pretend to be.
“This has crushed my hopes of ever having another baby. I just want to concentrate on rebuilding my confidence and my life.”
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