My shocking photos show the harrowing reality of domestic abuse… how to spot the red flags and cruel tricks of a monster
WHEN diminutive Jessica Davies met factory worker Thomas Parry, she thought he was a gentle giant who would look after her.
She was just 15 and still at school when she started dating 23 stone Parry who, at 6ft, towered over her 5ft 3 inch frame.
But far from being the love of her life, Jessica claims sick Parry, then 21, started controlling her every move over the next eight years – before a horrifying attack that even hardened cops sickened.
Horrendous injury pictures show Jessica’s legs, arms and back covered in bruises so bad that there’s barely any skin visible on her left limb.
Evil Parry smashed her face and stamped on her body as their two-year-old son lay sick with chickenpox in a nearby bedroom.
Jessica, now 23, claims she was so terrified of her twisted partner, now 29, that she set up a fake email account to write a Goodbye letter to their son after the chilling assault.
‘I believed he would kill me’
She said: “I really believed he was going to kill me. He was a hulk of a man.
“He was absolutely savage and tried to dehumanise me in every way he could. He told me nobody could stop him.
“He then kept me in the house for two weeks so nobody could see my bruises and forced me to tell my family I had Covid so they couldn’t visit.”
Jessica already had a restraining order against Parry aged 19 after he allegedly punched her in the head.
She left him and found a new love but says she was lured back by Moonpig cards and a promise he had changed.
Jealous Parry carried out his senseless attack in August 2022 shortly after proposing to Jessica.
She said: “He told me he was going to look after me.
“When he proposed we went out with my dad to celebrate and an old man of about 70, who had a walking stick, commented on my newly painted nails.
“When we got home Thomas went crazy, telling me I’d loved the attention.”
His later attack on Jessica started after he began quizzing her about the boyfriend he coaxed her away from.
She said: “He demanded to know what positions we’d had sex in.
“He was so, so angry and just began pacing the room. I could tell he was going to explode and he did. He grabbed my hair and began smashing my head on the sofa.
“He spat and stamped on me with his trainers and I was semi-conscious at one point.
“The pain was so horrific my body went numb.
“My body was black and blue all over from the bruises. He hit me so hard in the face there was blood everywhere from my nose.
“When I saw myself in the mirror I barely recognised myself. He beat me so hard – I could barely walk and I hurt so badly. I was in absolute agony.”
Jessica, who is sharing her story to inspire other women to leave abusive relationships, alleges Parry threatened to take her son away if she complained about him.
She said: “He warned me if I told anyone he’d make sure our son was taken off me.
“He even goaded me to kill myself and told me that I wanted to. I did wonder if the only way to get away from his clutches was to kill myself, if he didn’t kill me first, that is.”
Fears for son
All the while Jessica worried about her sick toddler son in his bedroom.
She said: “I remember crawling to the bedroom to give him some Calpol. I was in so much pain but I tried to stay strong for him.”
In the days that followed, Jessica says she cowered in fear as Parry tormented her, but described how she set up a bogus email and sent pictures of herself to the account when he went out shopping.
She added: “I also wrote letters to my little boy and told him how much I loved him – it was something I felt I had to do in case Thomas did kill me.
“Then I deleted it all because I knew as soon as Thomas came back he’d check my phone – all my messages and photographs.”
She says she finally found the courage to leave after realising she would never be free of her cruel lover unless she made a run from their home in Porthcawl, South Wales.
Jessica said: “We were all in the flat and I somehow got the courage and made a run for it when he wasn’t looking through the front door and out into the street.”
She showed the pictures to members of his family before sending pictures to her mum, who insisted the police get involved.
Jessica said: “As I told the police what I’d been through I could see one of the officers tear up – that’s how bad my injuries were.”
Parry was finally brought to justice in March this year when a judge jailed him for four years – half to be served on licence.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he had 14 previous convictions for offences such as common assault.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
His defence barrister Georgina Buckley said Parry was “extremely remorseful”.
Judge David Wynn Morgan gave a damning verdict during sentencing telling Parry: “The fact is you are a bully.
“Men who hit women are not just bullies, they are cowards and you are a coward.”
Red flags
Jessica is hoping other women will heed red flags she ignored at the start of their relationship.
She claims the controlling started early in their relationship.
She said: “We’d only been going out for a month when he told me I couldn’t wear make-up to school and started constantly checking my phone to see who I was talking to.
“He alienated me from my friends and hated me being with anyone but him.
“ I had a Facebook account with 3,000 friends on it but soon after going out with him he forced me to delete it.
“He began controlling my every move – he controlled what clothes I wore – no cleavage in photographs and he didn’t like me wearing dresses or skirts.
“He alienated me from my family so I just had him.
“I mistook his control and jealousy for love – I was so young and very naïve. I didn’t understand what was happening was domestic abuse.
“I want other women who read my story to be able to spot the warning signs. I’m just so glad I got away from Thomas. I know I am lucky to be alive.”
Teresa Parker, head of media relations for Women’s Aid, said Jessica had been courageous to share her story.
She said: “Jessica is so courageous speaking out about the horrendous abuse she experienced, and as she explains, it was not limited to physical abuse but was controlling too – abuse can take many forms.
“You may feel as if you are treading on eggshells, and worried about what your partner may do if you try to leave.
“Whether you are being physically attacked in your relationship or not, all forms of abuse counts as domestic abuse, and coercive control has been against the law since 2015.”
If you are worried your partner is being abusive there is support available at womensaid.org.uk. The charity also runs a Live Chat service so women can get help from a support team.