A woman who was brutally beaten by her abusive partner has told how she asked him to kill her to ease her pain. Thomas Jones was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol when he carried out the violent attack on his then-partner.
His girlfriend of three years, Emily Lewis, was scarred for life after he rained down blows on her and strangled her to the point she couldn’t breathe. Now Emily is bravely speaking out to raise awareness of domestic violence and its consequences.
Emily, from Neath, told Walesonline how she woke up in hospital following the horrific attack and had little memory of the events leading up to her admission. He was suffering from a deep head injury that was up to 8cm long and 4cm wide, reaching all the way to his skull.
He required 19 stitches and also suffered a broken cheekbone and was covered in bruises. Her world then came crashing down when a nurse told her, “Your boyfriend did it.”
Jones, who has no previous convictions, now begins an 18-month prison sentence for the attack. He also attacked Emily’s mother when she came to her aid and was given a separate 2-month sentence concurrent with the long term.
But for Emily, she’s still faced with flashbacks to that night in February last year. Emily explained how the night unfolded.
Although their relationship wasn’t perfect, she said Jones never acted “overly aggressive” towards her. But the fact that he went out, came home late and then ‘tested on’ her made her think he had a drinking problem.
She said: “There were traits of negative behavior towards me, but nothing like that. I wouldn’t describe it as a toxic relationship.” But on February 18, 2023, everything changed.
The pair had gone to Swansea with friends and while they began enjoying the evening, Jones’ behavior changed when they went to a second venue, which Jones believed led to him being thrown out.
He said: “I was outside trying to calm him down and it all started from there. He was calling me names, calling me that, telling me to go away and as I was leaving he was telling me to leave. We were trying to defuse the situation. We went somewhere else and he got kicked out.”
Although the head injury meant Emily had little memory of what happened next, a clever doorbell outside their home noticed Jones had become aggressive towards her when she couldn’t find the key and blamed her. He said: “I don’t remember much of when we got home because of the head injury I suffered afterwards. I remember something being said briefly about the house keys because he couldn’t find them and he kept saying I had them even though I remembered I had them.
“Then I remember being inside the house and him choking me until I couldn’t breathe. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I was trying to push him off, but I’m small compared to him so I couldn’t.
Today, he says his clear memory of that night is the “excruciating” pain he was in and wanting it to end. He said: “While I was on the ground, he [punching] “I was in so much pain that I told him to kill me because I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said. “I was hurting everywhere. “He beat me everywhere.”
Needing help, Emily called her mother about 10 times. When he got home, Jones punched him in the face, causing his nose to bleed.
The police arrived and Emily’s mother took her to Morriston Hospital in Swansea; Jones was still yelling at them as they left. Emily said: “I checked into A&E and they saw me straight away.
“They took me straight to the resus and I don’t remember anything more about that night. When I woke up around 9 a.m. the next morning, I didn’t know what was happening.
“I was wearing a hospital gown and my phone wasn’t working. I was full of painkillers like morphine, but I could still feel the pain. I woke up in absolute agony.
It was only when he saw an image on his phone camera that he realized how badly he was injured. “I saw the situation I was in. My head was shaved, I had stitches on my head, my face was swollen like a balloon. I threw my phone because I was so shocked, but I didn’t.” I asked the nurse who did this and she told me it was my boyfriend.
“I was shocked and traumatized when I found out he did this. My life changed completely overnight. We were fine the other day and I haven’t spoken to him since.”
It is not known how Jones caused the deep wound on Emily’s head, but the prosecution told the court it was likely caused by an Alexa screen that had blood stains on it. Emily still bears the visible scar from that night and has no feeling in the area. She also has memory problems and her balance is so bad she can’t walk in a straight line.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Alycia Carpanini told Judge Paul Thomas KC how Jones had previously denied the crime, but changed his plea to guilty to charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm and battery just minutes before his July trial was due to begin. He said aggravating features of the attack included Jones being high on drugs and alcohol at the time and that the attack took place in a domestic environment.
Emily read a victim impact statement to the court, addressed to Jones. She said she now suffers from insomnia and feelings of terror when she looks in the mirror and remembers what Jones did to her.
But she told Jones: “I’m a survivor. I have a scar that reminds me of how strong I can be. You didn’t take away my will to live. You didn’t break my spirit. This scar is a constant reminder to me.” What happened doesn’t define my future, but I can’t stand the thought of it happening to anyone else.
Stuart Tupin, mitigating, told the court: “He (Jones) is certainly coming to terms with what he did that night. “I’m not saying he’s there yet, but he’s now realizing the impact his actions are having.”
He said Jones had used cocaine several times before but had never reacted like this. He added that Valium was also found in Jones’ system that night, but said the defendant had not taken Valium and believed it must have been added to the bag of drugs he used with alcohol.
He added that although drug use is never condoned, he offered it as a possible explanation. He said Jones had made an appointment with the Addiction and Dependency Action Center Wales.
Judge Thomas sentenced Jones to 18 months in prison for his actions towards Emily. He was also sentenced to two months in prison, to run concurrently, for battery following his actions towards Emily’s mother. Half of that sentence will be served in prison before Jones is released on licence. A restraining order will also prevent him from having any contact with Emily for the next three years.
Judge Thomas said: “This offense is too serious to justify anything other than immediate detention. The message must be given to people, especially men, that the inevitable outcome will be prison.”
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.