A mum has issued a warning after she was subjected to a horrifying New Year's assault by her boyfriend. Benjamin Rumfitt, 40, strangled, punched and gouged Faye Matthews' eyes during the early hours of New Year's Day 2022.
She suffered a broken eye socket and severe bruising and spent January 1 in hospital. Just hours earlier on New Year's Eve, Faye's daughter had celebrated her seventh birthday, and the family had enjoyed a lovely day together.
The couple first met as teenagers when they both worked at a Morrisons supermarket. Five years ago, they found themselves single, and got in contact again on social media. The pair had their first date, second time around, on Christmas Day 2017, Grimsby Live reports.
Mum-of-two Faye, 36, said: “Christmas was a special time for us. Christmas Day was our first date and New Year was my daughter’s birthday. The attack came completely out of the blue, just minutes after the midnight countdown, and I thought he would kill me.”
Speaking about their first date, Faye, a hospital worker from Leeds, said: “My two children were visiting their dad in the afternoon and so when Ben messaged, I invited him over. We had a Christmas drink together and it was lovely. We really clicked.”
Their relationship became serious and one year on, they moved in together.
Faye said: “It was going well between us. Ben could be a bit too intense, a bit of a worrier. We had our ups and downs but our relationship was good.”
But by the end of 2021, Ben was becoming increasingly stressed. Faye and Ben celebrated Christmas 2021 – and their anniversary - together with her children. On New Year’s Eve, Faye held a party for her daughter’s seventh birthday at a trampoline park. Afterwards, the children went for a sleepover and the couple went out.
Faye said: “We went to Nandos and got some beers, and we were in really high spirits. We went home and watched TV. Just before the countdown, Ben nipped to the loo, and we missed our midnight kiss. He reappeared about ten minutes later and he seemed really agitated.
“He said: ‘If we split up, you will meet someone else really quickly, I know it.’ I was taken aback; it was out of the blue. We were perfectly happy together. I thought he was being ridiculous, then he said: ‘I wish death on you.’ Again, I brushed it off and told him to shut up. But he was becoming angry, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
“He was very close to me on the sofa, and I could hear his breathing getting louder and louder. He put his arms around my neck and began squeezing tighter and tighter.
"I couldn’t breathe. I was choking and I could taste blood. He pulled me to the ground and punched me over and over in the face. I thought he was going to kill me.
“He punched me 10 times and I was pleading with him to stop. I begged him to let me see my children again. He stopped for a moment, and I took my chance and ran from the house.
"I was screaming for help in the garden, and he came after me and attacked me again, pressing his thumbs into my eyes and gouging. The pain was horrendous. Ben stopped briefly to call his mum. I could feel my face swelling and my eyes were closed.”
Ben’s mother rang back and Faye answered the call secretly on her watch. Ben was arrested soon after. Faye had a broken eye socket and was also badly cut and bruised.
She said: “It was awful having the face the kids the day after, I tried telling them I had Covid, but my face was such a mess. It was New Year’s Day, it was supposed to be a celebration, and I felt at rock bottom.
"I couldn’t drive for two weeks, I had no feeling in one side of my face, I had lots of hospital appointments for my eye socket. It was just awful.”
Rumfitt appeared at Leeds Crown Court last week and pleaded guilty to wounding with intent. He was jailed for two years and 10 months.
The court heard that Rumfitt suffered a serious brain injury in 2010, which had made him prone to bouts of emotional instability. It was added that he had previously been receiving anger management courses, which he had found helpful, but they had been discontinued due to a lack of funding.
Faye said: “I feel disappointed with the sentencing, but I will put it behind me. I won’t let him ruin this Christmas.
"I am looking to the future now. My advice to other women would be to check out the man you’re dating. Make sure he is safe. A quick search on Google could save your life.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
