‘Extremely violent individual’ left mum ‘unrecognisable’ - after filming assault on his phone

Warning - distressing image

A mum beaten so badly by her violent partner that her face was left “unrecognisable” has shared a horrific picture of her injuries. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, sustained a brain injury and a broken jaw after she was brutally attacked by Karl Machin, 44, who filmed the attack on his mobile phone.

She lost a number of teeth, had concussion and Machin broke her orbital floor in her left eye socket, which caused her eyelid to not shut properly and droop down. The victim also has nerve and tissue damage to her face, which affected her smile, two black eyes and bruising to her legs, ribs and back.

Her injuries were so severe that when one of the officers attending the scene on December 4 saw her, he thought the blood in her hair was actually red hair. The woman has now opened up about the assault for the first time and said she suffers from nightmares, flashbacks and panic attacks from what happened.

She said: “Although I received significant physical injuries the emotional and psychological damage to me has been just as horrific. The trauma and psychological distress this has caused me is immeasurable.

“I suffer with flashbacks, nightmares. I also am experiencing trauma responses and triggering such as hyper vigilance, hyper-arousal, anxiety and very distressing panic attacks.

“I am nervous in big crowds and do not like being in enclosed spaces especially with men around. I am on edge and feel exposed and unsafe, always on the looking over my shoulder in case someone is behind me who might hurt me. I struggle to sleep due to nightmares as even in my sleep I relive what happened to me.”

The attack happened at the victim’s home in Blackpool, Lancashire, so no longer feels safe in her home anymore as it is tainted with the traumatic memories. She said: “I have no real idea of the true impact emotionally of the attack will be and must be realistic in it may leave me with lifelong repercussions on my self-confidence and esteem.

“But I am striving and trying my best to regain some of the old me back. I do however feel that I have had my safety and peace of mind robbed from me.

“I do not feel I am safe here in my home anymore, as it is now stained and tainted with the traumatic memories of what happened in it. As well as living with fear of my assailant searching me out or finding out things about me and my son.

“Finally, I must now try to rebuild myself and my life and try to come to terms with the fact I am never going to ever be the same person I was. I am irrevocably changed and feel I have had some of the best parts of me taken away and obliterated.”

Machin, of Blackpool, admitted Section 18 wounding and was jailed for seven years and two months. He was also given a 10-year restraining order.

Detective Jo Clement has praised the woman for coming forward and said she hopes it encourages other woman who may be in violent relationships to speak up. She said: “Karl Machin subjected his victim to a brutal, severe and life-changing assault which left her not only with horrific injuries but with lasting psychological damage too.

“He is clearly an extremely violent individual and I welcome both the custodial sentence and the restraining order imposed by the court. I would like to praise the victim for having the courage to speak about what happened to her and to be prepared to go through the court process.

“I hope her bravery will give other women who may be in violent or abusive relationships the confidence to come forward and report it to police safe in the knowledge we will investigate professionally and sensitively and that we will seek to put offenders before the courts and get justice for victims.”