Freddy Smith attacked Maisie Henderson with ‘a variety of weapons’, including a razor blade, a metal weightlifting pole and a sword – the young woman has spoken out after finally escaping the bully
A young woman subjected to humiliating and violent abuse at the hands of her vile ex-partner has told how she prayed her unborn baby would be unharmed after one horrific attack.
Maisie Henderson, 24, was pregnant with Freddy Smith’s child while he violently attacked her. Smith, also known as Campbell, was jailed for six years on January 19 after pleading guilty to offences including wounding with intent, strangulation and controlling or coercive behaviour. The controlling bully even made Maisie drink his blood during one terrifying incident.
The mum of two, from Ryton in Gateshead, has told how after finally escaping her nightmare relationship. She says she now wants nothing more than a quiet life.
Speaking to ChronicleLive, Maisie said: “I feel like it has taught me to be more positive in a weird way. I look at things through a different lens. I’m happy just living in a house where it’s peaceful now. I live a boring life now. Everything is just about keeping us safe.”
Maisie met Smith when she was at school and they became a couple when she was 17. “I always thought he was lovely,” she said. “I was really happy. But there were things that happened that if they happened now I would know they were red flags. We used to split up and get back together all the time.”
But it was when Maisie fell pregnant with her first child that Smith began to become physically violent. Newcastle Crown Court heard how many of his attacks took place between 2021 and 2022 despite the fact Smith knew his partner was carrying his child. She was attacked with a “variety of weapons”, including a razor blade, a metal weightlifting pole and a sword, the court was told.
Smith, 24, of East Lea, Winlaton, Gateshead, assaulted Maisie in December 2021 by throwing a mug and a chair at her. He also subjected her to controlling behaviour by not allowing her to use her phone or to look in the mirror when at his home.
Then around New Year 2022, Smith used a sword to stab her to the lower leg and foot, causing her to bleed heavily. She was left with scars from the puncture wounds. In March 2022, he smashed a glass bottle onto her finger, leaving it black and blue.
On another occasion, he wounded her by cutting her left thigh with a razor blade while she was in the shower, leaving her with a deep open wound which left fat visible and left her scarred.
In another attack, he used a metal pole to hit her to back of the head, causing it to crack open. In July 2022, he accused her of cheating and choked her and struck her on the legs with a metal pole and punched her around 25 times.
“It was really scary,” Maisie said. “I knew I was pregnant, I can remember just lying in bed praying my baby was going to be all right. It was horrible. I had never been through anything like that.” Maisie said that after each attack Smith would cry and try to make her feel sorry for him.
“He would cry afterwards and said he didn’t understand what he was doing,” she said. “He would look for my sympathy. He brainwashed me into thinking it was okay. Then something else happened and it was the same thing over and over. In the end it just became normal to us.
“It’s very difficult to know how I felt. It was hard to understand what was going on.” Smith was eventually arrested after Maisie’s mum reported her missing and officers turned up at their home. “He wouldn’t let me leave the house and he wouldn’t let me go on my phone,” she said.
Smith later pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, wounding, four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, strangulation and controlling or coercive behaviour. He was jailed for six years with an extended licence period of a further three years and given a restraining order.
“It was a relief, but it was very hard on the day he was sentenced,” Maisie said. “I thought I should feel different but I didn’t. I just felt the same.” Maisie is now trying to rebuild her life and has returned to college where she is studying nursing and midwifery.
“It’s left an impact on me,” she said. “I’m very fearful of people. I’m not very trusting. But my life itself is a lot better. I have gone back to college, I have got my two kids and I have got all my friends and family back. I don’t think of my son as his now. He’s his own person. It doesn’t even pop into my head.”
If you are a victim, or know someone suffering from domestic violence women can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night. The staff will offer confidential, non-judgemental information and support.
Men can call Respect Men’s Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 (Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm), or visit the webchat at Men’s Advice Line (Wednesday 10am to 11:30am and 2pm to 4pm) for non-judgemental information and support.
