- Published
This article contains details, including depictions of violence, which some readers may find distressing.
uncertain
readers → publish → violence
Without the interventions of her family and friends, Amy says she would have married the man who had physically and psychologically abused her for much of their relationship.
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who → say → relationship
Had the wedding gone ahead, she fears he would have eventually killed her.
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he → go → her
Christopher Malcolm, a serial rapist who was recently jailed for his crimes, inflicted life-changing injuries on his former fiancée - on one occasion she said he left her face "black and blue" just before she visited her terminally ill father for Father's Day.
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she → jail → Day
Amy, not her real name, told the BBC that staying in the relationship was often a means to calm the violence and survive.
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staying → tell → violence
So long as Malcolm was free, she said she did not feel safe enough to report him to police.
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she → say → police
Her loved ones, meanwhile, grew increasingly worried.
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ones → love → ?
On several occasions they reported their concerns for Amy's welfare to Police Scotland's disclosure scheme for domestic abuse, external (known as Clare's Law in England and Wales), and handed police evidence including text messages and photos of her injuries.
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they → report → injuries
This ultimately helped officers build a strong enough case to arrest Malcolm, who was taken into custody in September 2024.
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who → help → September
Shortly afterwards, Amy gave a full report of the rapes, assaults and abuse she had been subjected to.
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she → give → rapes
She had been due to marry Malcolm four weeks later.
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She → marry → Malcolm
Amy met Malcolm on the dating app Tinder around the end of August 2023.
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Amy → meet → August
They went for a coffee and a walk (he didn't drink) and she remembers him being "lovely and fun" – but the relationship progressed much more quickly than she expected.
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she → go → coffee
Within the first week she had met his parents, within months they were living together and they were engaged by Christmas.
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they → meet → Christmas
"When we were happy it was like he was like my best friend," she said.
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she → say → friend
"Towards the end, he could finish my sentences.
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he → finish → sentences
He knew what I was thinking – it was nice, but scary at the same time."
Malcolm quickly began exerting control over Amy's life.
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Malcolm → know → life
She said he insisted she delete social media so their relationship remained "just between us".
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relationship → say → us
She said she was not allowed to take phone calls from her family in their home because he "didn't like their accents" – he would hide her phone or physically take it from her.
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he → say → her
On multiple occasions he turned up at her work and demanded that she leave early, threatening to cause a scene.
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she → turn → scene
She said she knew if she didn't comply she would have a "horrific night" when she got home.
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she → say → night
"It upset me a lot," said Amy.
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Amy → upset → me
"That was the industry I'd worked so hard to get into and I absolutely loved my job.
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I → work → job
I felt like I was losing a part of myself by losing that side of work.
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I → feel → work
I started feeling like my employees didn't respect me anymore because I was allowing someone to tell me when I was leaving work.
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I → start → work
I didn't know they were aware of what was going on.
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what → know → ?
Violence was also introduced into the relationship – occasionally to begin with, but Amy said it increased to every other weekend.
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it → introduce → weekend
She described one incident where Malcolm was in "attack mode" for three days, had ripped up their sofa with a Stanley knife and had threatened suicide.
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Malcolm → describe → suicide
Amy also described occasions when Malcolm would straddle her chest and strangle her.
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Malcolm → describe → her
She said he would taunt her during these assaults and threaten more violence.
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he → say → violence
He left her permanently injured and disfigured.
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He → leave → her
During one attack, Malcolm fractured her wrist and stopped her from going to hospital, which now means she cannot hold a book in one hand.
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she → fracture → hand
Amy said this happened during an argument when he ranted: "Women are always trying to control my life".
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Women → say → life
He raped her on more than one occasion – including when a child was in the property.
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child → rap → property
Amy was made to sit on the floor in front of the child and apologise for any fright she had caused.
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she → make → fright
On some occasions, she described it as a "switch" being flipped in his personality.
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she → describe → personality
On others, he let her know what was about to happen.
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what → let → others
"He would play heavy metal first thing in the morning at 6am on the days when he would behave badly," she said.
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she → play → days
"I told him how much it triggered me - he knew it was a torture method, 'be prepared for what happens today'."
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what → tell → me
Amy tried to reason with Malcolm after the attacks – saying she did not deserve to be treated this way.
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she → try → attacks
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
