Fiance stubbed cigs out on me, poured boiling water in my lap and held a steam iron on my arm.. I never hit back

The Sun - UK

By STAFF REPORTERS

Published: 05 May 2009

BATTERED Ian McNicholl revealed today how he lied for his twisted fiance – who subjected him to 12 months of shocking abuse.

Burly Ian, 46, who is nearly 6ft and weighs 14stone, towered over 5ft Michelle Williamson.

But that did not save him as she launched repeated savage attacks.

Watch Ian's harrowing revelations below...

As Williamson began a seven-year jail sentence, Ian opened his heart to The Sun. His story shows that, while women remain the main victims of domestic abuse, men can suffer as well. Ian’s list of attacks include:

SCALDED with a steam iron, BOILING WATER poured over his genitals, cigarettes thrust up his NOSE and stubbed on his CHEST, and a gin bottle SMASHED in his mouth — on top of numerous PUNCHES and BEATINGS.

Today he told DJ Jon Gaunt on SunTalk of the first time Williamson launched an unprovoked attack on him.

He was left with heavy bruising when she punched him in the face after Ian spoke to female friend.

Shattered Ian said he was too scared to tell pals what was happening at home and lied when pals asked him what happened.

Today he told Sun columnist Gaunt: "I was covering up for her behaviour.

I was asked awkward questions at work and came up with the classic line that I had opened a cupboard door into my face."

---

You can listen again to Ian on today's Sun Talk show by clicking HERE.

---

Jailed ... Ian's smirking torturer Michelle Williamson at court

As he showed off scars that include burns and broken eye sockets, Ian said: "I expected to die. Her cruelty knew no bounds. I never retaliated because I knew I would have to kill her if I did — or she would just keep coming at me."

Two women a week are killed by a current or former male partner. And one in four women experiences domestic violence in their lifetime.

But Home Office figures also show two MEN die every three weeks at the hands of a partner or ex. One in five men suffers domestic violence, although this would include attacks by gay partners and relatives.

Hammer attack ... damage to Ian's shoulder from where evil Williamson actually broke a claw hammer while beating him with it

Businessman Ian’s 18-month relationship with Williamson began after they shared a taxi in Grimsby, Lincs.

For 12 of those months he would wake praying he got through the day unscathed.

The attacks began with her usual rant: "You never tell me you love me. You never instigate sex."

In one vicious assault Williamson, 34, hit Ian so hard with a claw hammer it broke on the third blow to his shoulder.

An iron was held close to his arm so the steam scalded him. He went on: “I had my teeth smashed out with a gin bottle once.

Scarred ... Ian's left arm still bears the mark from being cruelly scalded with a steam iron

“She struck me on the knee repeatedly with a magnum of champagne after the thick glass vase she was using smashed, then she lashed me with the flex of a Hoover.”

Ramming lit cigarettes up each of unsuspecting Ian’s nostrils and stubbing five out on his chest was another method of venting her anger.

Warped Williamson demanded Ian get an erection within five minutes of the attack — or she would give him “the beating he deserved”.

He was unable to comply and she pummelled him until she was too exhausted to continue. He recalled: “When she stopped I was so relieved to be free of pain it honestly didn’t occur to me to leave.

“She was proud of the injuries she inflicted and would send me to the shop to get her cigarettes straight after a beating.”

Ian would be paraded in front of Williamson’s pals to reveal the cuts and bruises she inflicted. He said “Once she leapt from her chair and yelled, ‘My abuse hasn’t worked, you still don’t love me. Let’s see if a lap full of scalding water will help.’

“I heard the kettle click as it boiled. I was frozen to the spot. Surely she wouldn’t do it.

“But she walked in and poured the whole kettle into my lap.

“I screamed in pain and desperately tried to lift my jogging bottoms from my skin.

“Unbelievably, she went and refilled the kettle and did it again.

“I hobbled upstairs and as I prised the material away from my skin, it split like an orange.

“She told me I couldn’t go to A&E and called a chemist to deliver gauze bandages. I dressed the wounds myself. It took weeks to heal.

Williamson’s last attack, in April 2008, began with a savage punch to the back of the head that woke Ian at 4am. She then kicked him in the head. Ian fell to the floor, and was smashed over the head with a TV.

Ian said: “I was in so much pain and so tired. I heard her go to another room, screaming she would kill me — and I believed her.” Too weak to move, Ian stayed quiet and still — the only defence he knew.

Raging Williamson ordered Ian downstairs and as he slumped in a chair she took an iron bar and rained blows on his head.

Desperate Ian told her he could not see but she continued, striking him from his shoulder down to his hand and then from his ribs to his feet until he was on the floor, unable to move. Satisfied at last, evil Williamson returned to bed.

It took an anonymous call from a neighbour to alert police and end the abuse. Ian sat trembling in the back of a police van and finally recounted his ordeal.

Cigarette burns ... battered male Ian McNicholl opens his shirt to show where lover stubbed ciggies on his chest

He said: "Admitting the truth was the hardest thing I’ve done. I was a shell of the man I was before, physically, emotionally and financially. The day the police came I was going to take an overdose. I could take no more."

Last month Williamson was sentenced to a total of 18 years, to run concurrently, on three counts of actual bodily harm and two of GBH.

She was cleared of attacking Ian with a mobile, a champagne bottle and electric flex.

Ian had enjoyed a successful career as a training consultant. Williamson put paid to that.

He said: “I thought she was very attractive, with a slight build, well spoken and with a great sense of humour. We moved into a flat together and got engaged.

“But she punched me one night after she flew into a rage about my ex-lovers. I told a colleague I had walked into a door. Crazy as it sounds, I still loved her. But before I knew it the beatings were a regular occurrence.

“By then I was trapped. As a victim you can’t think logically. Your only thought is to keep your abuser happy. I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I was ashamed.”

After Williamson was arrested, Ian wound up in a Salvation Army hostel until he got her evicted. He discovered she had plundered his bank accounts, taken a second mortgage on his home and run up thousands in debt on credit cards in his name.

His home was repossessed and he is now living in sheltered accommodation. Doctors have told him he needs reconstructive facial surgery.

Incredibly, while the abuse was going on Williamson insisted they went on ITV’s Jeremy Kyle show, where she wrongly accused Ian of seeing hookers. He went along with her claim, but now denies it.

Producer Andrew Hill told Grimsby Crown Court at Williamson’s trial that before the show Ian dropped his trousers and pants to reveal the scalds from boiling water.

Mr Hill added: “I was shocked at the sight of severe burns and blistering over his penis and legs.”

Looking back, Ian said: “I feel numb towards her, just curious how someone could inflict such pain.”

s.wostear@the-sun.co.uk