Slaughterman Stephen Spence, from Darlington, admitted crimes (From The Northern Echo)

Slaughterman Stephen Spence, from Darlington, admitted crimes

8:21am Tuesday 9th February 2010

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A VIOLENT bully whose campaign of domestic torture against two girlfriends culminated in him branding them with a steam iron was last night facing an indefinite jail sentence.

Slaughterman Stephen Spence, from Darlington, admitted a number of crimes against two women at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

At separate times, the victims were locked in Spence’s home and subjected to beatings so severe that they would be continued even after the women had slipped into unconsciousness.

One of his victims last night spoke of her relief that her “evil” tormentor was off the streets.

“I feel like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders,”

she said. “He is a vicious man – evil and horrible.”

Spence, 51, of Sanderson Street, Darlington, pleaded guilty to five charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and two charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

His drug-fuelled attacks would often be sparked by his partner’s interaction with other men, however innocent, said Paul Newcombe, prosecuting.

Mr Newcombe described Spence as a controlling bully who had a Jekyll and Hyde personality. He served a threeyear jail term in the early Nineties for domestic abuse, he said.

Spence began a relationship with the first woman during summer last year. Intimidation and beatings began soon afterwards.

The beatings were so brutal that on one occasion, during the height of the violence, the woman’s probation officer described her as “almost wholly unrecognisable”, with a “swollen and disfigured face”

following a visit.

During an assault on the woman on September 10, last year, after bingeing on amphetamine and alcohol, Spence stamped so hard on her legs that the tread from his footwear was visible in her bruises for days afterwards.

He then hit her head against a radiator and continued his assault even after she fell unconscious.

On another occasion, the woman laughed at a joke made by one of Spence’s friends.

Mr Newcombe said: “He returned home in a dark mood, told her to pack her things and then plugged in the electrical steam iron. ‘You need the iron,’ he said. ‘You definitely need the iron’. He spat on the plate to make sure it was hot, before holding it to her legs.”

The attack left her with first-degree burns and vivid scars showing the steam vents from the appliance.

During other attacks on the same victim:

● He punched her at full force for about an hour, until he was physically exhausted and unable to continue.

● He held a machete to her throat after she expressed her discomfort when he tried to force her to watch a pornographic film.

Spence’s relationship with the second woman took place in 2008.

The woman said she would have black-eyes as regularly as twice a week during her time with Spence, and also suffered serious burns from the iron.

Other incidents included Valentine’s Day 2008, when he pinned the woman to the ground and choked her because she had spoken to a male friend in a takeaway restaurant.

He also beat her with a frying pan after becoming fearful that others would find out about his violent behaviour.

The attack was carried out with such force that the metal pan was twisted out of shape.

Mr Newcombe said the woman thought she would never escape from Spence.

He added: “After one attack, he watched her in the shower washing away the blood. She said there was never a moment’s peace or escape from his attention.”

Spence had asked to be sentenced yesterday, but changed his mind when the Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, said he was considering an indefinite term of imprisonment for the safety of the public.

He will be sentenced, pending Probation Service reports, on Friday, February 26.

Spence made no statements in mitigation.

Detective Sergeant Carl Moss, who led the investigation, said: “Throughout this case, Spence has given no account of his actions and shown no remorse.

“His abuse was sinister, premeditated and calculated to cause the maximum effect, both physically and psychologically to his victims.

“This is one of the worst cases my team have investigated. The victims’ blood was found in every room of his house.”

The first victim thanked the police after the conclusion of yesterday’s hearing.

She said: “I am so pleased that the police and my support worker were so helpful and supportive.”

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