Long Term Domestic Abuse revealed by Nottingham Lie Detector Test
For over 30 years our client’s husband confidentially told friends and family members that she was mentally ill. In reality he was hiding long term domestic abuse.
Eileen’s Case
When Eileen met Marcel she was a chambermaid cleaning his hotel room. He was alone in London on business for a few days. They met again a day later when Eileen was out having a drink with some friends in a local pub. Marcel invited her out to dinner with him and she accepted.
It transpired that Marcel lived in France and was a chef. He was in London for meetings with a restaurant investor who wanted him to be his head chef.
The couple kept in touch after Marcel went back to France. Three months later he was back in London to take up his new position. In a whirlwind romance, Eileen married him within weeks of his return. Accommodation was provided free of charge over the restaurant and Marcel insisted that Eileen give up her job at the hotel. Within a year she was pregnant with their first child. Despite the long hours Marcel worked, they were happy.
New business, new house, new life
Five years later, with plenty of money behind them, Marcel decided he wanted to open his own restaurant in France. Although Eileen had reservations about leaving her family she felt she should support her husband and so agreed.
The restaurant they bought needed extensive refurbishment and soon ate through their savings. Eileen managed it, doubling as a waitress, and Marcel cooked. She found learning the language difficult so they employed waiting staff and Eileen did the accounts.
A year after opening the restaurants was a success and so popular it was difficult to get a reservation.
Over the course of time the couple had two more sons. Marcel decided they should stop renting and build a house for the growing family. Despite language difficulties, there was something about the builder that Eileen didn’t like. Marcel paid him 50 percent of the building costs up front which she didn’t agree with. Marcel said that the builder was a family friend and it would be fine.
A year down the line the house was nowhere near finished and had cost them far more than the estimate they’d received. Eileen began working in the restaurant again, washing dishes and cleaning, as well as keeping the books. Not long afterwards the builder went bankrupt so they lost the money they had invested in him. To make matters worse Eileen discovered she was pregnant with twins.
Abortion
When she was 14 weeks pregnant, tests revealed that Eileen had syphilis. Since she had never been unfaithful to her husband, it was clear Marcel had cheated. She was advised that an abortion would be appropriate given the potential damage to the foetuses. As a Catholic everything in her soul rebelled against it. Marcel said he hadn’t cheated on her but maybe he had caught the disease before they were married. It was a ridiculous suggestion because had that been the case they would both have had symptoms well before now. In any event, he insisted she had an abortion.
After the abortion she became very depressed and moved into the spare room. She never forgave Marcel for the loss of her twins and they never slept together again. It was around this time that Marcel began telling family and friends that Eileen was mentally ill.
Long term domestic abuse
The couple stayed together because of their children but lived separate lives under the same roof. Eileen wanted to move back to the UK when they retired so they bought a house near Nottingham to be nearer to her family.
She stayed after the children left the roost because she had no access to money. Marcel handled all their finances, did the shopping and socialised. She spent most of her time at home reading and painting.
It was true to say that Marcel had broken her spirit. He was both emotionally and physically abusive. When she tried to reach out to her family, they didn’t believe her. Marcel was so charming and did so much for her they said. They knew she was mentally ill because he’d told them so. They thought she was imagining it. Even when he pushed her down the stairs and broke her arm they said she had just fallen. Her children believed their father over their mother.
Temporary relief
Marcel contracted Covid-19 and was taken into hospital. This left Eileen on her own at 78. She was so used to Marcel controlling everything she didn’t know what to do. She had to quarantine for 14 days after Marcel went into hospital and relied on social services to help.
One of her sons contacted an old friend of hers, Rosemary, to find out if she could help cheer his mother up. Rosemary agreed but was horrified when she saw the condition Eileen was in. The massive weight loss was evident and she was covered in bruises. She looked around 100 years old!
One thing Rosemary learned was that Eileen was terrified of Marcel coming out of hospital if he recovered. She said she would rather go into a home than live as she had been living. During the course of a week it became apparent to Rosemary that long term domestic abuse had made her friend a nervous wreck. She lacked confidence in herself and was obsessed with what people might think of her.
The social worker derived that apart from blood pressure and anti-depressant pills Eileen was prescribed, she was very healthy for a woman of her age.
Lie detector test in Nottingham
Rosemary didn’t want to be the person who told Eileen’s children about the long term domestic abuse she had suffered. She contacted us to ask whether a lie detector test could help convince people that mattered to Eileen that she was telling the truth.
One of our East Midlands polygraph examiners said we could conduct a test provided Eileen’s GP said she was fit enough and had the mental capacity to take one. Having received the GP’s confirmation we went ahead and tested her.
No deception was found in any of the answers to questions she was asked, related to domestic abuse. Our report has convinced members of her family to support her more.
She is now seeking legal advice with regard to getting a restraining order against Marcel and finally getting her life back.
Eileen’s case demonstrates that it is never too late to attempt to resolve issues, even when it comes to long term domestic abuse. It’s so sad that she spent so many years of her life in an abusive relationship.
If you can relate to Eileen’s situation, get in touch with us and find out if a lie detector test can help you. Our helpline and advice is free, so don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Call us in strict confidence on 07572 748364.
