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Man who left girlfriend blind jailed indefinitely Woman blinded in attack by boyfriend urges victims: don't suffer in silence
(about 3 hours later)
A man who left his girlfriend blind after gouging her eyes in what police called a "premeditated, sustained and vicious attack", has been jailed indefinitely. A woman whose boyfriend blinded her by gouging her eyes with his thumbs has urged other victims of domestic abuse not to suffer in silence but to alert the police or support groups.
Shane Jenkin, 33, strangled Tina Nash until she lost consciousness and then gouged her eyes and broke her jaw and nose. Attempts to save her sight failed and she was left completely blind. Tina Nash spoke out as former partner Shane Jenkin began a life sentence for the barbaric, unprovoked assault on her at her home in Cornwall.
Jenkin, 1.93m (6ft 4in) tall and powerfully built, was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection. Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC fixed the minimum term at six years and said Jenkin should be detained at a secure psychiatric hospital. Nash said: "I urge anyone out there suffering domestic abuse to contact the police before it is too late. Don't be frightened or embarrassed – there are specially trained officers who can and will help you.
Nash, 31, sat in the public gallery of Truro crown court to hear the sentence, but Jenkin, who at a previous hearing admitted grievous bodily harm with intent, refused to attend. "If you really feel unable to contact the police, there are charities and support groups such as Women's Aid who will help, advise and support you in doing so."
The mother of two sons, then aged 13 and three, was set upon by Jenkin at her home in Hayle, Cornwall, in April last year. It emerged during the sentencing that in the 12 months before Nash was blinded, Jenkin was reported to the police nine times for suspected domestic violence and on one occasion a prosecution was launched after he threatened to burn his girlfriend's home down. But he promised to reform his ways and Nash declined to give evidence against him.
After the sentencing, Nash issued a statement through Devon and Cornwall police. She said: "I have waited a year and three weeks for this day. It was a week short of a year before Shane decided to plead guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent although he and I know that he tried to kill me that night. Truro crown court heard that Jenkin struck again in April last year a day after the pair had watched a "a gory DVD which ended with a Chinese girl having her eyes hanging out of her head".
"This delay I believe to be deliberate as Shane hoped I would give in and back out as I had done previously and he was happy in the knowledge that he was still controlling my life by doing so. Andrew Macfarlane, prosecuting, said Nash, 31, went to bed but awoke to find Jenkin, 33, on top of her, strangling her. Macfarlane told the court: "The next thing she can recall is the defendant pulling the duvet away and saying, 'Oh my god, your eye is hanging out of your head'."
"During this year my life has been in limbo as I have not been able to have the treatment and counselling I so desperately needed whilst Shane has had a team of experts, professionals and psychiatrists assessing and ensuring his wellbeing and that he received his treatment that he required. The prosecutor said Nash did not scream or cry for help because she had learned from previous experience that if she did, he would become more violent. She also knew she had to stay calm because her children, 13 and three, were in the house, Macfarlane said.
"Shane was not mentally ill when he attacked me, he was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. It was a silent, prolonged attack. Shane knows what he did to me that night and he has to live with that for the rest of his life. As well as suffering terrible injuries to her eyes, Nash suffered a broken jaw and nose. She begged Jenkin, who is 6ft 4in tall and weighs 17½st, to get help for her but he refused and held her prisoner for 12 hours during which he blamed her for the attack.
"My life has changed forever that night and will never be the same but I am now able to move on, start my treatment and rebuild my life. I have a future and want to provide a future for my kids and be a good mum. Nash, of Hayle, Cornwall, said she had waited a long time for Jenkin to face justice and believed he waited for a year before pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent because he hoped she would back down.
"I have been overwhelmed and moved by all the kind messages, offers of help and generous gifts I have received and would like to say thank you to everyone. "I have waited a year and three weeks for this day," she said. "It was a week short of a year before Shane decided to plead guilty.
"I urge anyone out there suffering domestic abuse to contact the police before it is too late. Don't be frightened or embarrassed, there are specially trained officers who can and will help you. If you really feel unable to contact the police there are charities and support groups such as West Cornwall Women's Aid who will help, advise and support you in doing so." "This delay I believe to be deliberate as Shane hoped I would give in and back out as I had done previously, and he was happy in the knowledge that he was still controlling my life by doing so."
She said that although she had been robbed of "one of the most precious things in life", she was glad that Jenkin had "at least taken responsibility" for changing her life for ever. The court was told that Jenkin is being held in a medium secure psychiatric hospital in Devon and heard evidence that he was mentally ill when he attacked Nash. If and when he is released from hospital he will be moved to prison. He will not be eligible for parole for at least five years.
"I actually look forward to going to sleep because in my dreams I have sight," she said. "It's when I wake up that the truth hits home. Some days I just don't want to get up but I'm determined to provide a future for my children and this is my motivation." Nash insisted: "Shane was not mentally ill when he attacked me, he was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. It was a silent, prolonged attack. Shane knows what he did to me that night and he has to live with that for the rest of his life.
Detective Inspector Chris Strickland described the attack as the most harrowing case he had been involved in. "Our view is that Jenkin deliberately strangled Tina into a state of unconsciousness in order that he could inflict these terrible injuries," he said. "Tina's life will never be the same and her lifelong disability will be a constant reminder of the attack." "My life changed forever that night and will never be the same but I am now able to move on, start my treatment and rebuild my life. I have a future and want to provide a future for my kids and be a good mum."
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC said Jenkin had committed a "barbaric attack involving extreme violence".
He said: "Shane Jenkin, has pleaded guilty to a truly terrible crime." The judge said Nash had "lost the precious gift of sight. She will never again be able to see her family, her friends or the beautiful coast and countryside of this county. It is almost impossible to imagine the despair and distress Ms Nash must feel at never being able to watch her two sons growing up."
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Inspector Chris Strickland, of Devon and Cornwall police, said the sentence meant Jenkin would be held in prison or hospital for a "long, long time".
He added: "There are many people out there who we don't even know about who are victims of domestic abuse. They don't come forward and they always think they can change what's happening to them. But the fact is, as you can see, it moves on and gets worse. They need to come and tell us."
Strickland paid tribute to Nash's courage in trying to rebuild her life, saying: "Tina has displayed incredible strength, however, and has shown great desire to be able to care for her two children despite not being able to see them as they grow up."Strickland paid tribute to Nash's courage in trying to rebuild her life, saying: "Tina has displayed incredible strength, however, and has shown great desire to be able to care for her two children despite not being able to see them as they grow up."