A woman has told how she was brutally assaulted for six hours by her abusive boyfriend.
Kirby Weegram, from Hartlepool, County Durham, was attacked by Jonathan Graham who strangled her, beat her over the head with a plank of wood and said: ‘I’m going to kill you tonight.’
She begged him to let her write a final letter to her family as she thought she was going to die.
Kirby Weegram (pictured before and after the attack) has told how she was brutally assaulted for six hours by her abusive boyfriend
The 22-year-old is now raising awareness of Clare’s Law which allows women to ask police if their partner has a record of violence against women.
She says if she used it she would have known he had previous convictions and would have left him.
Ms Weegram, a carer, suffered bruising on every part of her body following the attack at 32-year-old Graham’s flat in Hartlepool.
She said: ‘I used Clare’s Law after Jonathan had attacked me as I was curious to see if he had any previous convictions.
‘I found out that he had previous convictions for violence against women. I only wished I had done this sooner, because I would have left him straight away.
Kirby Weegram has spoken of her horrific experience after she was subjected to a sustained six-hour beating by her partner Jonathan Graham (pictured together)
‘I want to warn other women to use Clare’s Law if they have any doubts about a partner.
‘At first Jonathan was charming. I’d heard rumours about him being violent towards women but he managed to convince me they were lies.
‘A few weeks in we started to argue. He was so different when we argued – he was like Jekyll and Hyde.
‘I started to worry about his temper, and just before the attack I took extra shifts at work just so that I could avoid spending time with him.’
The night she was attacked on August 19 last year Ms Weegram had bumped into Graham on a night out and the couple argued before heading back to his flat, where he became violent.
Ms Weegram added: ‘When we got in, I went straight into the toilet and he followed me in and punched me to the side of the head.
Ms Weegram said: ‘When we got in, I went straight into the toilet and he followed me in and punched me to the side of the head’
‘I fell to the ground and he started kicking and punching me. I tried to escape into the bedroom but he followed me and pushed me onto the bed and tried to suffocate me under the duvet. He strangled me about six or seven times.
‘He said ‘you are never leaving this flat, I’m going to kill you tonight’. I was in pain all over my body. I was trapped for six hours whilst he abused me both physically and mentally.
‘He spat and me and threw things at me. I genuinely thought that I was going to die. I begged him to let me write a final letter to my family, but he said that I didn’t deserve to do that.
‘He told me “you should be lucky that I’m not a sexual deviant or I would rape you”.’
The 32-year-old bit into a wine glass and started chewing the glass whilst telling his terrified victim ‘this is how indestructible I am’.
He also told her that he was going to kill himself and frame her for his murder.
It wasn’t until Kirby told Graham that she had a shift at work that he decided to let her go.
Jonathan Graham was jailed for 21 months
He then followed Kirby as she walked home barefoot and bloodied, begging her to give him half an hour head start on the police.
The brutal attack left Kirby with lacerations and bruises over her entire body, as well as black eyes, popped nose and a haemorrhage in her left eye from the lack of oxygen due to strangulation.
At Teesside Crown Court Graham, of Lewis Grove, Hartlepool, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and threats to kill and was jailed for 21 months.
Kirby added: ‘The law on suffocation and strangulation are nowhere near tough enough.
‘In domestic abuse cases the psychological damage is often undermined by the physical damage – but is is the psychological abuse that will stay in your mind.
‘I would absolutely encourage any woman who even hears a rumour about their partner to get in touch with Clare’s Law – if I’d done this then I would never have been in the position that I was.
‘It could literally save a life. I was distraught he wasn’t jailed for longer, ideally I wanted him to be away for life but I know that is unrealistic.
‘I don’t hate him, I genuinely want him to get rehabilitation because he is so damaged. I want him to be happy – but I know that it will never happen.
‘I worry that once he is released he will strike again and I want to warn other women what he is capable of.’
Clare’s Law is named after 36-year-old Clare Wood who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009.
The initiative is designed to help women who believe that they may be at risk of potential harm by a partner.