00:00:09
[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
00:00:18
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:00:26
and for a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
00:00:34
website this episode was originally released on Case Files patreon Apple premium and Spotify Premium feeds as an
00:00:42
early bonus for our paid subscribers these episodes are designed to be slightly shorter allowing us to
00:00:49
cover a broader range of cases to receive these episodes early and add free you can support case file on your
00:00:56
preferred platform in Late July 2015 28-year-old civil engineer Mark Van dongan was using an
00:01:10
online dating site when he met a woman named a violet like Mark Violet lived in the
00:01:16
English City of Bristol the two chatted online for a week before deciding to meet up for a
00:01:23
coffee the first date went so well that they arranged to go to the cinema together a few days later
00:01:30
affection quickly blossomed and by mid August the pair were contemplating a serious
00:01:37
relationship there was just one problem Mark already had a girlfriend 5 years earlier he' met a
00:01:45
40-year-old South African woman named berina Wallace through an online dating site despite the 18-year age gap between
00:01:52
the two and the fact they lived in different countries they hit it off Mark had been living in his home
00:01:59
country of the Netherlands at the time while Bina was living in the United Kingdom Mark flew to the UK to take Bina
00:02:07
on a date and the two became intimate Mark returned to the Netherlands shortly after but a few
00:02:14
weeks later Bina contacted him with some news she told him she was pregnant Mark wanted to do the decent
00:02:23
thing so he relocated to the UK he moved in with biner in Bristol enrolled in University and found work as an engineer
00:02:32
on a large construction project but after a few months Bina told Mark she'd miscarried the
00:02:40
baby Mark stayed in the relationship regardless having developed strong feelings for Belina the majority of his
00:02:48
income was used to support Bina as well as her family back in South [Music] Africa over the years the relationship
00:02:56
struggled and by the time Mark met Violet he'd been been planning to leave Bina for a
00:03:02
while he admitted the truth about his relationship status to Violet and she wasn't exactly pleased by the news the
00:03:10
two decided to stop seeing each other until Mark sorted himself out a few days later Mark contacted
00:03:19
Violet to say he'd ended things with Bina and was moving into a hotel Mark and violet agreed to rekindle
00:03:27
their romance however Mark urged Violet not to send any more emails to his current
00:03:34
address his ex-girlfriend Bina Wallace had hacked his account at the end of August Mark
00:03:42
checked out of his hotel room and moved in with Violet on the day he arrived Violet was
00:03:49
shocked by what she saw Mark had a fingernail gouge Mark around his neck and nearly a dozen 4in
00:03:56
gouges on his back and chest when Violet asked what happened Mark said Bina had attacked
00:04:05
him later that day Violet began receiving Anonymous phone calls when she picked up the caller on the other line
00:04:14
remained silent over the next 72 hours she received 13 more of these calls meanwhile Mark's Mobile phone was
00:04:25
ringing Around the Clock it was Bina Wallace and she was not happy Bina switched between screaming at
00:04:34
Mark to crying and hyperventilating on September 2 Bina made a call that finally pushed Mark
00:04:42
over the edge he contacted the police telling the operator I split up with my girlfriend
00:04:49
and she keeps calling me now she's blackmailing me [Music] Mark Van dongan told the emergency
00:05:20
operator that when he ended things with berina Wallace two weeks earlier she'd threatened to stab herself she didn't go
00:05:28
through with this threat but instead grabbed a handful of pills and swallowed them in front of Mark he phoned for an
00:05:35
ambulance and Belina was taken to hospital after Mark moved out she harassed him with phone calls and text
00:05:44
messages finally he received an email from Bina claiming that a close friend of hers had suffered a heart attack she
00:05:51
accused Mark of abandoning her in her time of need and demanded that he call her
00:05:57
immediately Mark reluctant ly made the call BINA was sobbing saying she wouldn't stop crying until Mark came to
00:06:06
see her in person Mark refused asking Bina to just leave him and his new girlfriend
00:06:13
alone he hung up but Bina kept trying to call him back Mark eventually picked up Bina
00:06:22
screamed that if he didn't do what she wanted she'd call the police and tell them Mark had been downloading child
00:06:27
abuse images exasperated Mark called the police emergency line telling the operator
00:06:35
something needs to be done about it the next day Mark went to the local police station and showed an officer the
00:06:43
dozens of text messages and emails Bina Wallace had sent him the officer believed the messages were pleading in
00:06:50
nature rather than harassing but she agreed to speak with berina regardless later that day the officer
00:06:59
visited Belina at her flat and explained that Mark vanan had lodged a complaint against her she urged Bina to seek help
00:07:07
from her GP if she was struggling with the breakup the officer was also aware that
00:07:13
Mark had agreed to continue paying bina's bills and the University tuition for her fashion
00:07:20
degree she recommended that Bina contact an Advice Line if she was struggling financially the officer explained that
00:07:29
the silent phone calls to Violet's flat could be easily traced if necessary and instructed Bina to cease all contact
00:07:37
with Mark and his new [Music] girlfriend less than 3 weeks later on September 21 Mark received another
00:07:46
message from Bina she said she was so devastated by their breakup that she planned to quit
00:07:52
her University course and returned to South Africa she wanted Mark to give her money
00:07:58
to pay for the plane ticket Mark refused the next day Bina called Mark begging him to come see
00:08:08
her given bina's history of self harm Mark worried about what she might do to herself he told Bina he would go to her
00:08:16
flat that evening but first Mark went home to Violet he reassured her that he was committed to their relationship but
00:08:25
felt that he needed to do this Marco arrived at bina's flat on lady Smith Road at about 6:00
00:08:33
p.m. as they prepared dinner they chattered about their relationship Mark reiterated that he had
00:08:41
no intention of getting back together an argument broke out and at around 1: p.m.
00:08:47
Belina packed a few belongings and left the flat saying she was going to check into a
00:08:53
hotel given the late hour mark decided to stay in the flight overnight he undressed her down to his box of
00:09:01
shorts and slipped into bed soon he was sound asleep at 3:00 a.m. bina's neighbor
00:09:14
Thomas awoke to a screeching sound that he thought was foxes fighting he grabbed a club from his golf
00:09:21
bag intending to break up the scuffle but when he stepped outside he realized it wasn't foxes some was screaming the
00:09:30
words help me Thomas ran to the end of Lady Smith Road and found Mark Van dongan wearing
00:09:37
nothing but boxer shorts he was clearly in distress but Thomas didn't understand
00:09:43
what was happening he thought perhaps Mark had taken LSD and was having a bad trip it
00:09:50
looked like he'd been to a rave his face and upper body were covered in dark gray
00:09:56
paint a split second later Thomas realized his mistake he asked Mark what had happened
00:10:05
in a high-pitched distress Mark cried out someone threw assd or something over me can't you
00:10:14
see Thomas immediately called Emergency Services when the operator instructed Thomas to ask Mark who did this to him
00:10:23
Mark responded my ex the operator told Thomas to take mark to a shower and have him thoroughly wash
00:10:31
his entire body other neighbors had emerged from their houses and one offered the use of
00:10:38
his bathroom as the group ushered the still screaming mark back down lady Smith Road
00:10:44
his distress increased he fearfully pointed at a flat and said she lives there she lives there
00:10:54
the group assured him he was being taken to a different flat when Mark stepped into the harsh
00:11:00
lighting of the bathroom Thomas was shocked by what he saw he reassured Mark that an ambulance and police were on the
00:11:09
way Mark replied they need to be here she needs to pay paramedics quickly arrived to rush
00:11:18
Mark to hospital but all they could do was feed him a constant supply of pain relieving gas along the
00:11:25
way even so Mark continued to scream in agony me he implored a police officer who was
00:11:32
riding with them to check if his girlfriend Violet was okay he then pointed to a tattoo on his
00:11:39
lower stomach it was the name Bina Mark told the officer she needs to go to prison for
00:11:49
this throughout the 2-mile journey Mark's distress escalated he kept shouting about his eyes saying that he
00:11:57
could hardly see he begged those in the ambulance to tell him if he still had eyelids on arrival he was taken to the
00:12:06
hospital's decontamination unit through the haze of his failing eyesight Mark caught a brief glimpse of
00:12:14
his own reflection he screamed kill me now the hospital's emergency doctor determined that Mark Van dongan had been
00:12:33
doused with highly corrosive concentrated sulfuric acid the acid had first covered Mark's
00:12:40
entire face and then splashed down his body within seconds of the acid making contact Mark's skin had been burned
00:12:49
turning to blackened dead tissue by the time he arrived at the hospital the skin on his face had melted
00:12:56
away his nose had completely disintegrated and his left ear and both eyelids were
00:13:03
gone his eyes had turned gray and they were dissolving Mark slipped into a coma officers converged on Bina
00:13:14
Wallace's flat berina was sitting in her living room appearing completely calm and
00:13:21
collected in front of her was a tail with a pair of acid wash jeans on top next to the jeans was a paintbrush
00:13:29
and a glass mug with a few drops of clear liquid inside one of the officers asked
00:13:35
Berliner if she knew what substance had injured Mark Bina gestured to the items on the
00:13:41
floor and replied acid I was using it to distress some fabric the liquid in the mug had come
00:13:51
from a white plastic bottle officers found on the kitchen table it had no label but contained a clear odorless
00:13:58
liquid that proved to be sulfuric acid berina claimed she'd originally bought the acid to clean out some of the
00:14:06
flat smelly drains when officers went into the bedroom they saw what looked like a
00:14:12
black tar splashed all over the bed upon closer inspection they realized the substance was actually the white
00:14:20
cotton bedding melted by acid the blackened patches were concentrated on two pillows and a
00:14:28
particular section of the duvet Belina Wallace was arrested and taken into custody she claimed that just before
00:14:37
3:00 a.m. she and Mark had gotten into an argument he became violent and started to pull on her
00:14:44
underwear to defend herself Bina picked up a glass from the bedside table and threw its contents on
00:14:51
Mark she assumed it was filled with water as Mark always poured her a glass before bed
00:14:59
prior to their fight he told her to use it to take her medication but when she saw Mark's skin
00:15:06
turn black and smoke start to rise Bina realized it wasn't water mark began screaming in pain so
00:15:15
Bina rushed him into the shower before going to grab some paper towels to wipe him
00:15:20
down Bina told the detectives that Mark had put the acid into the glass himself saying he wanted me to burn my insides
00:15:31
can you imagine can you imagine Mark betrayed me detectives asked Bina why she didn't
00:15:39
call for an ambulance after Mark ran out of the flat screaming in pain Bina said
00:15:45
it hadn't even crossed her mind explaining you know I was just confused about loads of things I was confused
00:15:56
[Music] detectives didn't buy Bina Wallace's story for a second she said she'd purchased the acid to clean the flat
00:16:07
strains but these were tested and it was clear they hadn't been cleaned in quite
00:16:12
some time berina was charged with the offense of throwing a corrosive substance with
00:16:18
the intent to burn MIM disfigure or disable Mark Van dongan with Mark in a coma and unable to
00:16:26
assist the investigation police turned turned to his family and friends to help according to Mark's father case his
00:16:35
son had sought Medical Care 4 years earlier for burns to his arm Mark had told the doctor he'd
00:16:42
dropped a hot cup of tea over himself but that was a lie after arguing about something
00:16:49
insignificant berina crept up behind him while he was sitting on the sofa and threw boiling water over his
00:16:57
arm case explained that Mark had always been more in love with Bina than she was
00:17:02
with him but Bina was Jealous by Nature Mark had confided in his dad that Belina sometimes hid herself in the face
00:17:11
so she looked bruised and beaten she'd then threatened to report Mark for domestic violence if he ever left
00:17:18
her to prevent him from returning to the Netherlands or checking into a hotel she
00:17:24
sometimes stole his passport and hid it a colleague of marks recalled that Mark had once lifted his shirt to reveal
00:17:32
fingernail gouge marks across his back and chest some were fresh While others had already begun to heal and
00:17:40
Scar Mark was a tall strong man often referred to as a gentle giant when he stood next to berina he towered over her
00:17:49
petite frame yet in the months leading up to the attack Mark had confided in his
00:17:55
father and friends that he was becoming more and more afraid of BINA and what she might be capable
00:18:02
of detectives obtained a warrant to access Berlin's psychological history they discovered that in December 2013
00:18:11
she'd spoken with a university counselor about her anger issues she had admitted
00:18:16
to being physically violent with people and to using threatening and intimidating Behavior especially towards
00:18:23
Mark in a session with the university psychiatric nurse the following year Bina had described feeling an adrenaline
00:18:30
rush whenever she felt wronged by someone she said it made her want to destroy everything around
00:18:37
her after Mark ended their relationship Bina told this same nurse that she wasn't coping she felt depressed anxious
00:18:46
betrayed and angry berina had deleted her internet search history but police were able to
00:18:56
recover it a for search of her phone and computer revealed that in the days leading up to the attack berina had
00:19:04
accessed 82 sites that showed the damage sulfuric acid burns could do to a human
00:19:10
being she viewed dozens of articles about victims who'd been horribly disfigured after having sulfuric acid
00:19:16
thrown in their faces most of which were accompanied by graphic photographs berin also Googled phrases
00:19:24
such as what happens when you swallow sulfuric acid and can I die from drinking sulfuric
00:19:33
acid on the same day that Mark Van dongan contacted police asking that something be done about Berlin's
00:19:39
blackmail threat she visited the online store Amazon for just over 17 Belina bought a
00:19:48
1 lit bottle of 98% concentration sulfuric acid the following day an officer visited her to request that she stop
00:19:57
contacting mark after the officer left berina founded a mental health crisis hotline and told
00:20:04
the operator she'd swallowed a handful of pills an ambulance was dispatched and Bina was taken to hospital but
00:20:12
discharged the following day a few days later the bottle of sulfuric acid arrived at some point Bina removed the
00:20:22
bottles label which featured a very clear warning that the contents caused severe burns and Di damage
00:20:31
one of bina's online searches had led her to a case from 15 years prior in which Birmingham man Andrew Gardner had
00:20:39
allegedly tricked his former girlfriend into drinking sulfuric acid as a last toast to Mark the end of their
00:20:46
relationship the victim 27-year-old doctor Karenina L cried in agony for 23 minutes before Gardner called for an
00:20:56
ambulance by that time the had destroyed karenina's mouth throat and internal organs she died in Hospital hours later
00:21:05
while Gardner drank beer at a local pub he claimed that Karenina had drunk the acid herself either mistaking it for
00:21:14
a glass of water or intentionally to take her own life at Gardner's murder trial the jury
00:21:21
wasn't convinced by the prosecution's evidence and the accused walked free detectives couldn't help but note the
00:21:30
similarities between this case and Berlin's claimed that Mark had tried to trick her into drinking acid it was
00:21:37
possible that she'd been inspired by Andrew Gardner's defense as a means to get away with her own
00:21:48
crime Mark's injuries were the most extensive and extreme that surgeons had ever seen so much so that photos of his
00:21:56
injuries were withheld from the inves netive team on account of being too disturbing not long after Mark lost
00:22:04
Consciousness he'd been taken into surgery so that all of the dead tissue on his face and body could be cut
00:22:10
away healthy sections of his skin from other parts of his body were removed and grafted over the exposed
00:22:18
areas by the time surgeons had completed the multiple procedures nearly half of Mark's entire body surface had been
00:22:26
impacted his face was dis figured and he was blind in one eyee while doctors were
00:22:31
only just able to save a tiny fraction of sight in the other they had no choice but to amputate
00:22:38
his left leg almost every internal function of Mark's Body had been affected his heart
00:22:46
liver and kidneys had all been permanently compromised while his weakened gastrointestinal system caused
00:22:52
him to bleed from his Bell the damage to Mark's throat was so severe that a tube was inserted down his
00:23:00
throat to keep his Airways open multiple lung infections prompted the use of a tracheostomy tube to remove
00:23:07
the fluid from his lungs and prevent him choking to death on a number of occasions he went
00:23:13
inter septic shock causing his blood pressure to drop to potentially fatal levels doctors battled constantly to
00:23:22
keep Mark alive then in January 2016 4 months after he slipped into a coma Mark Van
00:23:31
dongan woke [Music] up as Mark regained Consciousness the full extent of his injuries became
00:23:45
clear the acid had so severely damaged his motor nerves that he was completely paralyzed unable to move from the neck
00:23:54
down it had also eaten away at his vocal cords rendering him unable to speak a word yet Mark's ability to feel
00:24:04
remained in some parts of his body the acid had decimated the muscle tissue because the acid was impossible
00:24:12
for doctors to remove or neutralized completely small traces of it continue to slowly erode Mark's
00:24:20
bones meanwhile the severe scarring all over Mark's skin caused unbearable itching doctors administered a constant
00:24:29
flow of morphine but it wasn't enough every second brought Mark excruciating [Music]
00:24:37
pain Mark remained confined to his hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit where a team of 29 Specialists managed
00:24:45
his constant care he was fed intravenously and relied on a ventilator dialysis machine and
00:24:53
catheter frequent surgical procedures were necessary to ensure his survival Mark's father case lived and
00:25:04
worked in Belgium while Mark was comos case traveled to England every Friday afternoon and stayed with Mark all
00:25:11
weekend returning to Belgium in time for work on Monday after Mark woke up case never
00:25:19
left the hospital he remained by his son's bedside for 23 hours a day case talked to Mark hoping his voice
00:25:29
would provide him with something to cling to at times case noticed a flicker of responsiveness in Mark's face he tried
00:25:38
everything he could to help provide his son with some relief he scratched Mark's itching skin
00:25:45
and rearranged his limbs to weas the nerve pain over time case helped Mark to relearn how to
00:25:54
communicate case developed a painstaking system whereby he pointed to which letter of the alphabet written on a
00:26:00
piece of paper when he reached the letter Mark needed mark would stick out his tongue allowing him to spell out
00:26:09
words when asked who was responsible for his injuries Mark spelled berina eventually doctors were able to
00:26:20
fit a speaking valve to the end of the tube in Mark's throat in July 2016 after 5 months of
00:26:28
speech therapy Mark regained some of his voice detectives took this opportunity to interview him in
00:26:37
hospital Mark recalled the night of the attack in Vivid detail at around 3: a.m. he recalled
00:26:45
waking up in the dark to the sound of laughter in the bedroom he heard bina's voice say if I can't have you no one
00:26:55
can something then struck Mark in the face it burned like hell and Mark let out a
00:27:02
terrified scream as he scrambled out of bed the pain moved from his face down to his
00:27:08
arms and chest he ran from the bedroom and out into the street screaming along with the ongoing
00:27:20
physical pain Mark was plagued by recurring night terrors and flashbacks of the attack he was diagnosed with depression
00:27:28
and post-traumatic stress disorder and prescribed anti-depressants Mark's biggest desire
00:27:35
was to regain some Mobility he committed everything he had to intensive daily physiotherapy
00:27:42
sessions after months and months Mark had a major breakthrough when he managed to lightly tickle his father's hand when
00:27:50
placed near his [Music] own Mark understood that he'd require extensive round-the-clock care for the
00:27:57
rest of his life and would always be in constant agonizing pain regardless he clung to a glimmer of
00:28:05
hope that he could have something closer to a normal life and eventually he raised the possibility of being
00:28:11
discharged into a care home case suggested they both go back to Belgium but Mark was Keen to stay in
00:28:19
England with a violet she remained committed to their relationship and visited him in hospital every
00:28:27
day on November 22 2016 after 11 months in the ICU Mark's wishes were granted when he was transferred to a care
00:28:37
home mark insisted that his father return to Belgium and resume his normal life later that same day case received a
00:28:47
distraught phone call from Mark Case knew immediately that he had to get his son out of the care home he
00:28:55
jumped into his car and drove the 8 hour from Belgium back to England arriving at
00:29:00
the care home in the early hours of the morning while waiting for a more reasonable time to approach he decided
00:29:07
to take a quick nap in the front seat but case soon heard screaming and he knew right away that those screams
00:29:15
were coming from his son case ran up to the home and banged frantically on the door eventually a
00:29:23
staff member opened it when case entered Mark's room he was shocked by what he found Mark was lying on the bed covered
00:29:32
in his own feces the staff had refused to go anywhere near him too terrified of his
00:29:41
appearance case hired a private ambulance and Mark was transferred to a hospital in Belgium that same day where
00:29:47
he was placed in a pallative care unit while a team of eight Specialists assessed Mark's condition case remained
00:29:58
by his side until the nurses became accustomed to his appearance by the end of November Mark
00:30:05
was informed of his prognosis no amount of physical therapy would ever restore movement to his body
00:30:13
the paralysis was permanent for Mark this was the straw that broke the camel's back he had
00:30:21
nothing left and wished to end his life on December 1 mark submitted an application for voluntary
00:30:31
euthanasia case could do nothing but support his son's wishes euthanasia was lawful under
00:30:39
Belgian law provided strict control requirements were followed specially qualified doctors and psychologists
00:30:46
assessed Mark's application they considered Mark to be mentally competent and found that his
00:30:53
application had been made freely and voluntarily They concluded that Mark was and would remain in a medically futile
00:31:01
state of unbearable physical and psychological suffering his application was approved the law required Mark to wait
00:31:11
for a period of 30 days before the euthanasia could be performed case tried to convince Mark to
00:31:18
come home with him during that time but Mark refused saying it would be just another ceiling to look
00:31:26
at one week before the procedure was due to be carried out Mark developed another
00:31:31
lung infection another tracheostomy tube was needed to remove the fluid from his
00:31:38
lungs doctors told Mark that without it there was a high chance he would choke and
00:31:44
die however doctors also explained that if they did go ahead with the procedure there was a 96% chance it would further
00:31:52
damage his vocal cords and he could lose his voice completely Mark's only wish was to be able to talk
00:32:00
to his dad until the very last second he declined the treatment by January 2 2017 15 and A2
00:32:11
months had passed since the acid attack at 7:15 p.m. that day Mark shared a final drink with his father and said
00:32:22
goodbye doctors administered the lethal injection into Mark's heart after Mark's death case told channel 4
00:32:33
news that boy went through hell and back so much pain so much itching enough to drive anyone insane completely
00:32:44
paralyzed getting a bullet would be better in comparison this has been nothing short
00:32:50
of torture it defies belief [Music] when news of Mark's death reached England Bina Wallace was immediately
00:33:03
charged with another crime murder her trial commenced 9 months later in November
00:33:11
2017 belina's defense team contested the murder charge claiming there was no case
00:33:17
to answer because Mark Van dongan had chosen to end his own life the judge decided that the
00:33:24
euthanasia was a voluntary act that broke the link between the acid attack committed by Bina and Mark's death for a
00:33:32
murder charge to apply an unbroken link was legally required the judge therefore ordered
00:33:39
that the charge of murder be withdrawn the prosecution immediately appealed and 9 days later the appeal
00:33:48
court handed down its ruling even though Mark's decision to die was voluntary for the purpose of the
00:33:54
Belgian law on euthanasia it did not aut atically mean his death was voluntary in
00:34:00
the context of how and why he came to that decision the appeal Court ruled that the
00:34:06
link had not been severed from a legal standpoint whether it had been factually severed was a question to be put to a
00:34:16
jury in May 2018 Berlin Wallace stood trial on both charges throwing the acid with intent as well as
00:34:26
murder she tested justified in her own defense sticking to the story that Mark himself had filled the glass with acid
00:34:33
and tried to trick her into drinking it before launching an assault Belina told the jury that she
00:34:39
threw what she thought was water over Mark just to make him stop through tears she insisted that she
00:34:47
hadn't meant to hurt him Belina claimed she did never even read the articles about other acid
00:34:53
attacks that were found in her online search history she said she only looked at the pictures of the victims out of
00:35:00
curiosity labeling the timing as just a coincidence just bad luck the jury heard a recording of
00:35:09
Mark's 2016 Hospital interview with detectives in which Mark detailed Belina Wallace's controlling and violent
00:35:16
behavior during their 5-year relationship he described waking up on the night of the attack to Bina laughing
00:35:24
and repeated what she' said just before throwing the acid on face if I can't have you no one
00:35:33
can the Judge instructed the jury to consider a series of questions to reach their verdicts on the first count the
00:35:41
jury had to decide whether bina's Act of throwing acid over Mark was deliberate if so was it done with the intention of
00:35:49
causing Mark serious bodily harm the jury's decision here was unanimous Belina Wallace was guilty
00:35:59
however for Bina to be guilty of the second count murder the jury had two more questions to
00:36:06
consider the first was whether the acid attack caused Mark's death while the attack didn't need to be
00:36:14
the only cause the jury had to be satisfied that it was a significant cause if their answer was no or if they
00:36:22
were unsure they were required to acquit Bina but if they had no doubt that bina's attack was a significant cause of
00:36:31
Mark's death there was one final question to consider could berina have predicted
00:36:38
that Mark might choose to end his own life as a result of his injuries if the answer was yes then
00:36:45
berina would be guilty after 15 and 1 half hours of deliberation the jury reached their
00:36:54
verdict they found Belina Wallace not guil of [Music] murder addressing berina directly the
00:37:08
judge called her a manipulative and controlling woman who lied without compunction or conscience in an attempt
00:37:15
to avoid culpability she stated your intention was to burn disfigure and disable Mark Van dongan so
00:37:24
that he would not be attractive to any other woman you ignored Mark's cries of pain and
00:37:30
chose not to telephone the Emergency Services when you would have known that Mark urgently required medical help you
00:37:38
caused Mark catastrophic and life-changing injuries and 15 months of intense physical and psychological
00:37:46
suffering it was premeditated and sadistic it was an act of pure raval for the acid attack on Mark Van
00:37:57
dongan Belina Wallace was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 Years starting from the date of her
00:38:05
arrest berina will be eligible for parole in 2027 although the judge stressed that berina would only ever be
00:38:13
released if she no longer posed a danger to the public the attack on Mark in 2015 was
00:38:21
just one of hundreds of acid attacks across the United Kingdom that year in response to the alarming rise of acid
00:38:29
being used as a weapon the government introduced new restrictions to make it more difficult to
00:38:35
obtain from July 2018 a special license was required to purchase sulfuric acid in any concentration above
00:38:44
15% this regulation would have prevented Belina Wallace from attacking Mark Van dongan with such a devastating
00:38:52
substance the UK's then Minister for crime safeguarding and vulner ability told the
00:38:59
press this tragic case illustrates the devastating consequences of acid attacks and we are determined to end these
00:39:07
appalling acts of violence belina's life sentence brought little relief to Mark's father who had
00:39:15
described his son as a gentle man and everyone's friend case ultimately felt that Mark
00:39:22
was too good for this world addressing reporters after the while case was shaking as he
00:39:30
said Mark was so brave when confronted with the hellish pain and disabilities inflicted upon him but eventually it all
00:39:39
became too much for him to Bear the court process has been a difficult and emotional
00:39:46
experience I am very disappointed in the outcome of this trial there are only losers in this
00:39:54
case I hope that Mark can now rest in [Music] [Music] peace e