Brave head stamp victim speaks out in bid to warn others

Jodie Walsh Turner, 17, of Shevington Moor, has told a harrowing tale of abuse, after her violent ex-partner avoided jail earlier this week.

Callum Wareing, 18, of Rose Avenue in Beech Hill was handed a 90-day suspended jail sentence after he stamped on Jodie’s head five times during a fit of rage and sent a string of abusive messages threatening to kill her, smash her head with a hammer and cut her face.

Now, after finding out that her abuser will not face time behind bars, Jodie has bravely stepped forward to tell her story in an attempt to warn others about the trauma domestic violence can cause.

Jodie said: “He has got 125 hours of unpaid work and I am left with the illness of it all. I am constantly paranoid. He has ruined my life.

“I want people to know that as soon as they are being controlled, or if their partner is overly paranoid, get out straight away. If they are being abused mentally or physically there’s only two outcomes; you come out alive or dead.”

Following the “scarring” events of the past 12 months, Jodie has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has since suffered more than 350 seizures which she has been told could continue for the rest of her life.

In an emotive Facebook post, which has since been shared by women and men around the world, the adult care worker detailed the worst elements of the year-long relationship which culminated with the events heard at Wareing’s assault trial.

Jodie told the Wigan Post how the pair met at a taxi rank in January last year after a night out in a Wigan.

She said that the next three or four months were the “happiest” she had been for a long time until the abuse began.

“It all started when I wasn’t allowed to go out,” she said. “I said ‘I’ll do what I want’. I was a lot stronger then. It didn’t really bother me what he said.”

Once the abuse started, the “terrified” girl began documenting the abuse by taking screenshots of messages, which were later used during the trial, and capturing images of her injuries.

“I blamed myself for everything. I was embarrassed to tell anyone what was going on. I felt on my own,” she added.

Before long, Jodie found herself hiding bruises and cuts from her mum, Diane, who was becoming suspicious that something was going on.

“It has caused mental and physical scarring,” said Diane, who found out about the episode of events only after Wareing had stamped on her daughter’s head.

Since the Facebook post, Jodie has been contacted by women from as far as America thanking her for giving them the strength to leave their abusive partners, including one woman who has refused to leave her violent partner despite having terminal cancer.

Diane said: “I’m really proud of what she’s done. She had always been such a strong-natured girl. That’s what’s so upsetting. I suppose this could happen to any of us.”