A woman has been found guilty of an acid attack in Bristol that left her former partner with such terrible injuries that he was driven to euthanasia.
Berlinah Wallace, 49, threw sulphuric acid over Mark van Dongen, 29, in a fit of jealousy and rage after he began a relationship with another woman.
Bristol crown court heard that Wallace, a former fashion student, hurled acid at Van Dongen, an engineer, as he lay in bed, laughing and taunting him: “If I can’t have you, no one else can.”
Van Dongen’s face and much of his body was severely scarred. The acid burned through 25% of his body surface. He was paralysed from the neck down, lost most of his sight and his lower left leg had to be amputated.
He spent more than a year in hospital in Bristol before his family and friends hired a private ambulance to move him to Belgium, where he applied for euthanasia.
Wallace was found guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent but cleared of murder.
The jury of 10 men and two women took 15 hours and 30 minutes to reach their decisions. A unanimous guilty verdict was reached on the charge of throwing a corrosive substance with intent.
Mrs Justice Nicola Davies adjourned sentencing until next week due to the “extremely serious nature” of the offence. She will hear submissions from prosecution and defence teams on Tuesday and pass sentence on Wednesday.
Arguing against the murder charge, Wallace’s defence claimed there was no direct “causal link” between her actions and his death: in effect, Van Dongen and the Belgian doctors were responsible rather than Wallace.
Van Dongen’s father, Kees, who was in tears in the public gallery as the trial concluded, expressed satisfaction that the jury was given the chance to decide if his son’s death amounted to murder.
Describing Wallace as “the devil personified”, he told the Guardian how he did not recognise his son when he first visited him hospital. “His injuries were unbelievable,” he said.
Kees said he fully supported his son’s decision to apply for euthanasia. “No one can imagine what Mark’s suffering was like: the horrendous pain and the misery that boy went through. Nobody can imagine it,” he said. Mark van Dongen’s brother Bart said he had gone through “hellish pain”.
Wallace bought the sulphuric acid – legally – online from Amazon for less than £10. Kees van Dongen vowed to campaign to make sure the laws around the sale of acid are tightened. Amazon has declined to comment.
A spate of acid attacks including the one on Van Dongen has led the government to move to reclassify sulphuric acid. Later this year it will only be possible to legally buy the substance over a certain concentration with a licence.
The police’s actions before the attack will be scrutinised. It has emerged that Van Dongen was so worried about Wallace after they split that he contacted the police and an officer gave her a harassment warning.
Speaking after the case, DI Paul Catton, the senior investigating officer, said: “With hindsight you can look back and say, could we have done more?”
Wallace sobbed in the dock as the verdicts were returned.
Catton said: “Mark suffered the most inconceivable pain imaginable following what was a cowardly attack born out of jealousy.
“He went from being a healthy young man with his whole life ahead of him to having extensive and repeated surgery on the most hideous injuries just to keep him alive. In the end, his pain was so devastating, so catastrophic, he sought the assistance of doctors to help him die.
“While the jury has concluded Wallace’s actions did not amount to murder, we felt it was the right thing to do to ask them to consider the charge based on the evidence.
“Wallace is undoubtedly a manipulative individual who abused Mark throughout their relationship. She repeatedly threatened him when they were together and even assaulted herself – claiming she would report that her injuries were caused by his hand.
“In my view, it takes an unbelievably callous person to show absolutely no empathy or remorse for the level of suffering she caused.”
Catton added: “Acid attacks can have a devastating effect on people’s lives. Many victims are severely disfigured, experience depression and are effectively condemned to a life sentence of trauma. This case, however, is evidence of the most serious consequences.
“This investigation has been one of the most harrowing I have been involved in in all my years as a detective and it’s impossible to imagine the impact it has had on Mark’s family and friends.
“We have supported his family throughout what has been a horrendous ordeal for them and the thoughts of every officer involved in the investigation continue to be with them. I hope now, following the conclusion of the trial, they have some sense of closure.”
When he was asked how he knew the liquid was acid, Van Dongen told police: “Because it was burning like fire.”
Asked by an officer who had carried out the attack, he replied “Berlinah” and pointed to a tattoo of her name on his stomach.
Speaking on the steps of court, Kees van Dongen said: “Mark was so brave when confronted with the hellish pain and disabilities inflicted upon him but eventually it became too much for him to bear.
“He died in dignity and will live on in the hearts of his family and friends.
“The court process was a difficult and emotional experience. I am very disappointed in the outcome of this trial. There are only losers in this case. I hope that Mark can now rest in peace.”