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| Berlinah Wallace: Woman who threw sulphuric acid at boyfriend is cleared of murder | Berlinah Wallace: Woman who threw sulphuric acid at boyfriend is cleared of murder |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A woman whose partner ended his life by euthanasia after she left him with a catalogue of debilitating injuries in an acid attack has been acquitted of murder. | A woman whose partner ended his life by euthanasia after she left him with a catalogue of debilitating injuries in an acid attack has been acquitted of murder. |
| Berlinah Wallace meticulously researched the effects of sulphuric acid before purchasing a bottle and throwing it over former lover Mark van Dongen as he slept in September 2015. | Berlinah Wallace meticulously researched the effects of sulphuric acid before purchasing a bottle and throwing it over former lover Mark van Dongen as he slept in September 2015. |
| Bristol Crown Court heard that the 48-year-old, described as controlling, jealous and vindictive, attacked the engineer at her flat in Bristol after he left her for another woman. | Bristol Crown Court heard that the 48-year-old, described as controlling, jealous and vindictive, attacked the engineer at her flat in Bristol after he left her for another woman. |
| Mr van Dongen was grotesquely scarred by the attack, lost the sight in his left eye and had his lower left leg amputated, while he was also paralysed from the neck down. | Mr van Dongen was grotesquely scarred by the attack, lost the sight in his left eye and had his lower left leg amputated, while he was also paralysed from the neck down. |
| The 29-year-old spent more than a year in hospital receiving treatment for his injuries before he was discharged to a residential care home. | The 29-year-old spent more than a year in hospital receiving treatment for his injuries before he was discharged to a residential care home. |
| He later contacted his father, Cornelius, begging to travel to Belgium, where he ended his life through euthanasia in January 2017. | |
| A jury of 10 men and two women unanimously acquitted Wallace of Mr van Dongen's murder or manslaughter on Thursday following more than 15 hours of deliberations. | A jury of 10 men and two women unanimously acquitted Wallace of Mr van Dongen's murder or manslaughter on Thursday following more than 15 hours of deliberations. |
| They did however find her guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent. | They did however find her guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent. |
| Jurors were told the attack had been the culmination of a campaign of domestic abuse Dutch-born Mr van Dongen had suffered at the hands of his ex, which included silent phone calls and threats of blackmail. | Jurors were told the attack had been the culmination of a campaign of domestic abuse Dutch-born Mr van Dongen had suffered at the hands of his ex, which included silent phone calls and threats of blackmail. |
| Wallace poured the sulphuric acid into a glass and then threw it over her sleeping victim, causing her him to scream in agony and run out into the street. | Wallace poured the sulphuric acid into a glass and then threw it over her sleeping victim, causing her him to scream in agony and run out into the street. |
| Witnesses to the immediate aftermath of the attack told the court described Mr van Dongen’s cries of anguish. | Witnesses to the immediate aftermath of the attack told the court described Mr van Dongen’s cries of anguish. |
| “His face was grey. One of the legs of his boxer shorts seemed to be ripped. He had what looked like black paint on him,” Dominic Wooding said: | “His face was grey. One of the legs of his boxer shorts seemed to be ripped. He had what looked like black paint on him,” Dominic Wooding said: |
| “He was screaming and pacing and being incoherent.” | “He was screaming and pacing and being incoherent.” |
| Paramedic Dean Carter said he arrived at the scene to find Mr van Dongen with “significant chemical burns and his face, abdomen, chest and thighs”. | Paramedic Dean Carter said he arrived at the scene to find Mr van Dongen with “significant chemical burns and his face, abdomen, chest and thighs”. |
| Mr Carter said Mr van Dongen was “frothing at the mouth” and kept saying he could not see, asking at one point if he still had eyelids. | Mr Carter said Mr van Dongen was “frothing at the mouth” and kept saying he could not see, asking at one point if he still had eyelids. |
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