Man tried to kill woman on ‘God’s orders’

Wayne Hollerin, 35, denies attempting to rape the woman but claims he tried to kill her to ‘release her spirit from her mortal body’.

Earlier that day, Preston Crown Court heard he tried to set himself on fire, by pouring whisky on himself and holding a lighter to the alcohol, telling the woman: “I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where I’m at.”

The woman - who can not be identified for legal reasons - was left naked, barely conscious and covered in blood after Hollerin, of no fixed address, beat her with his fists and a pint glass, at the Regent Hotel, on Central Drive, Blackpool on June 11.

When the hotel owner opened the door following reports of a disturbance, he found Hollerin and the woman, completely naked, in the blood spattered room.

The court heard Hollerin had met the woman - who is from Cumbria - on Facebook and the pair had exchanged explicit messages.

On June 10 the pair both travelled to the resort - withHollerin travelling from Sheffield.

They checked into the hotel and started drinking. Hollerin took some amphetamine which the woman had brought, but she did not take any as she felt unwell from the night before.

In a recorded police interview two weeks after the attack, she told officers the drugs turned him into a different person.

She said: “His mood went from happy, happy and merry to like, sexually frustrated and then to like, er, a psycho.”

The woman repeatedly told Hollerin she did not want to have sex with him as she felt unwell but Hollerin pushed her and started stripping her naked, the court heard.

She told the officer after repeatedly telling him no: “He looked at me and it was like, evil eyes, like ‘I’m gonna make you bleed’. Like, I don’t know, he was weird.”

The court heard Hollerin continued to try to rape the woman as she struggled and hit out against him.

But when she started to scream he started savagely beating her.

The hotel owner was woken at 8am by a report there was a disturbance in the room.

The court heard he opened the door but on seeing the scene went to get the help of several workmen from the street outside.

When they went into the room, Hollerin kicked out and fought back at them.

The police were called and they arrived at around 8.30am but as thy tried to restrain the defendant he headbutted the floor and bit the spindles of the bannister as he was carried out of the hotel.

Opening the trial for attempted rape yesterday, David Potter QC said: “Sometime at around 8am on the morning of June 11 Wayne Hollerin beat [her] in that hotel room with such savagery that he has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

“He says that the crime of attempted murder was not in any way connected to the sexual activity - such as it was - which he claims was at all times with her active and willing consent.

“Rather he claims the attempted murder took place a long time after the sexual activity had ceased.

“He said God had told him his spirit needed to be liberated from his mortal body, and having tried ad failed to set himself on fire by pouring whisky on himself, he claimed he realised the woman’s spirit similarly had to be released from her mortal body.

“And so he proceeded to beat the victim with his fists and either a bottle or a pint glass with the intent that she should die.

“The prosecution’s case is different.

“Fuelled with drugs and alcohol and enraged by her persistent refusal to engage in sex after he had gone to the trouble and effort in travelling from Sheffield to Blackpool, and at his own expense pay for a hotel room, he beat her after he had attempted to rape her.”

(Proceeding)