A BRIDE-TO-BE has spoken of her heartbreak after her fiancé threw her through a bedroom door and into a bath tub before hurling a glass ashtray at her face – leaving her with horrific injuries.
Becky Aitken, 39, was due to tie the knot with her partner Lee Mulligan, 46, with ceremony at a registry office this month, but their big day was called off late last year following the vicious attack.
However, the groom-to-be will now spend his wedding day in prison after he was handed a twelve-month sentence for an attack that left the mum-of-three needing stitches to her face and painful plastic surgery.
Lee pushed Becky through a bedroom door and ended up hitting her so hard she fell into a bath.
She managed to climb out of the tub and run down the stairs – but as she looked up, he threw a heavy glass ashtray towards her face, deeply wounding her cheekbone.
The healthcare assistant, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, said: “It was horrific. He was like a raging bull. And all because I had been late getting home from his mother’s house.
“We’d hoped to spend the rest of our lives together, but now I never want to see him again.”
Becky and Lee met three years ago and immediately hit it off.
The devastated ex-bride said: “Lee was very family-orientated and old-fashioned.
“My kids liked him, and I could see a future for us.”
But as time went on, Lee became controlling and possessive.
Becky continued: “I am very close to my family and every Tuesday, my sister-in-law and other female friends would come round. Lee wouldn’t allow it, even though it was just a girls’ night.
“He would time me going to the local shops. If I was late home, he would complain.”
Their relationship was on-off, but when he proposed over a romantic meal, she saw it as a fresh start – and they began planning their wedding for April 28th this year.
Becky recalled: “We’d been to the register office and I was shopping for dresses and outfits. It was exciting.”
But in November of last year, Lee flew into a rage when she arrived home later than planned from visiting his mother.
She explained: “As soon as I got home, he started on me. I ran from room to room, but he followed me, hitting and punching me as I ran.
“Then he threw me across the landing so hard, I fell into the bath with him towering over me.
“I don’t know how, but I managed to break free and run downstairs. I saw him throw the big heavy ashtray through the air. It hit me in the face and knocked me off my feet.”
Lee, who is jobless, last week appeared at Hull Crown Court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court heard that the attack, which took place on November 17th 2019, left Becky with a deep gash on her cheek requiring dozens of stitches and maxillofacial surgery.
Prosecuting, Philip Evans said: “At around 4.30pm she was asked to go to his mother’s house to get some money. She ended up returning at 10pm She found him in an angry mood.
“He began shouting at her, asking where she had been. She went upstairs to the toilet and he is following, still taking her to task about where she had been. She managed to close the door, but he forced himself into the bathroom, pushing her into the bath.
“She managed to get out and went downstairs. He pursued her into the living room, pushing her against the wall, knocking some pictures onto her.
“She ran to the door at which the defendant threw an ashtray which struck her in the face. She tried to escape and was held back by her jumper but managed to get to the front door where she grabbed a key and ran out.”
Lee was arrested at the house. He has previous convictions for violence, actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
The judge said the lack of a victim personal statement from Becky did not make his offending any less serious.
He said: “I have had careful regard to the guidelines dealing with domestic abuse and custodial and community sentence. Let me make it clear that your offending is not less serious because it is in a domestic setting.
“There is a breach of trust in that element and a vulnerability in her.”
Lee was jailed for a year and must serve up to half of his sentence in custody and will serve the rest on licence.
Becky added: “I didn’t give a victim impact statement because I was frightened of the repercussions.
“He told the court that we have got back together. This is a complete lie. I never want to see him for the rest of my days.
“I can safely say that the wedding is off, and he will spend our wedding night rotting in jail where he belongs.”
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