Moment man kidnaps teen girlfriend before she suffers 'catastrophic' injuries
Horrifying footage has been released of the moment a man kidnapped his teenage girlfriend, who was later found severely injured on the side of a highway.
Angel Lynn, 19, was found seriously injured on the side of the A6 in the town of Loughborough, UK, around 10.45am on September 17, 2020, Leicestershire police said.
Despite undergoing emergency medical care, she remains in hospital with brain damage and is unable to walk, talk or feed herself.
On Thursday, Angel’s boyfriend Chay Bowskill and his friend Rocco Sansome, both 20, were found guilty of kidnapped the teen, police said.
Bowskill was also convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour and perverting the course of justice and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. Sansome was handed a 21-month sentence.
After the trial, police released shocking footage of the moment Bowskill grabbed Angel after she got out of a van stopped on the side of a road.
Angel can be seen walking across the street as the 20-year-old suddenly darts over, grabs her and carries her back to the van.
With Sansome behind the wheel, the van sped away and soon after the horrifically injured teenager was spotted by drivers who called police to report seeing “something” on a nearby highway, police said.
The time stamp on the video footage reads 10:37am — just minutes before police were alerted.
Man bombarded girlfriend with 'repulsive messages'
During the trial, prosecutors claimed Angel had been thrown from the van as it travelled at 96km, but the defence claim she had jumped or fallen, the Leicester Mercury reports.
Because it was unclear how the 19-year-old had exited the vehicle, Bowskill was cleared of the charge of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm.
Bowskill was controlling with Angel during their year-long relationship and had urged his mum to change or retract a police statement she gave against him, the publication reports.
“You treated her in a vile way. She was belittled by you to a point where she must have felt worthless on a regular basis,” Judge Timothy Spencer QC told Bowskill.
“You bombarded her with repulsive and degrading messages. You controlled her freedom of movement by a variety of means.
“She wasn't allowed any sort of life apart from you. I'm satisfied you meted out violence to her, causing bruising, on at least two occasions.”
Angel is 'catatonic' and in constant pain
A year-and-a-half after the brutal attack, Angel is still unable to communicate and needs 24-hour care.
In a statement published by police, her dad Paddy said the family has been “changed beyond recognition forever”.
“Angel was so full of life and had such a great future ahead of her. That future has sadly been taken away from her,” he said.
“The catastrophic injuries Angel suffered will mean life will never be the same for her or our family. Every day is not only a huge struggle for Angel but also a huge struggle for our family and friends.
“We are lucky in some ways as we are a close family, we have lots of lovely friends who help us and people that care in other ways. We try to remain strong but we know that every day will be difficult and a struggle for us all especially for Angel.
“I know that Angel will never get married now and I will never get to walk my daughter down the aisle. Nikki and I will never be grandparents to Angel’s children.
“We don’t know what the future holds for our daughter but we try to put smiles on our faces each day but inside our hearts are bleeding out.”
Outside of court, Angel’s aunt Julie Hutchinson said her niece is “alive but she’ll never live a life and she’ll be in constant pain”.
“She’s just catatonic,” she said, adding that Angel has had her last rites read to her three times.
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