Hannah Mellor’s ex-partner Ben Fitton was found guilty of two counts of rape, non-fatal strangulation, coercive and controlling behaviour and causing grievous bodily harm and jailed for 18 years
Hannah Mellor lived every woman’s nightmare when her previously “lovely” new boyfriend began displaying signs of a controlling nature, which later led to “one of the worst cases of abuse seen by police.”
The mum of one had bravely waived her right to anonymity after her ex-partner, Ben Fitton, was jailed for 18 years at Manchester Crown Court for his relentless campaign against her – involving mental abuse, harassment, rape and physical violence.
The couple had met through mutual friends before they got together in April 2021. But just four weeks into the relationship, Hannah had shared a picture of Fitton asleep onto her Snapchat story, with the caption saying she couldn’t sleep because of his snoring.
A male friend replied: ‘Cool’. Hours later, Fitton woke her up, accusing her of cheating on him and slapped her across the face before begging for forgiveness.
“He said it would never happen again, it was a ‘spur of the moment’ and he ‘just lost his temper’. I just thought he was just paranoid, which he was but I don’t think I quite realised how bad it was at that point. Only as time went on did I realise how bad it was,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
From then on, Fitton, 33, from Glossop, began controlling Hannah’s every move and subjecting her to more violence including rape and strangulation. He also sent thousands of distressing texts and voice notes to Hannah including one which read: “Ugly fat mess, you deserved to be raped for the rest of your insignificant life.”
His coercive control escalated to the point where he dictated when she was allowed to shower, and stopped her wearing makeup or brushing her teeth. “I wasn’t allowed to brush my teeth for the whole time of the relationship. It’s left me with severely decayed teeth,” Hannah said.
“He said, why would I need fresh breath? It could give me an opportunity to kiss someone else.” Trapped in her living nightmare, she tried to take her own life one Christmas Day.
After he brutally raped her, brave Hannah made the decision to leave him but unwilling to accept the end of the relationship, Fitton threatened to stab her son telling her in a harrowing phone call: “I’m about two mins from [her son’s] school, I’ve got a knife and I’m going to stab him to death’.
Recalling the story to MEN she said: “That changed everything. Do what you want to me, don’t come for my baby. I went on live [police] chat, sent that message and never ever looked back.
“It didn’t matter about me, I’m a grown up. I got myself into that situation. I accepted it was my own fault, but my five-year-old little boy didn’t do anything.” Following a joint effort of GMP and Derbyshire Constabulary, Fitton was arrested. She added: “They saved my life.”
Fitton, of no fixed abode, was found guilty in September 2024 of two counts of rape, non-fatal strangulation, coercive and controlling behaviour and causing grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for 18 years, with an additional three years on extended license due to the “significant risk” the judge deemed he posed. He was also issued a restraining order.
Detective Constable Russ Clarke of Rochdale CID said of the investigation: “It comprised all those horrendous different elements of domestic violence, nothing didn’t feature. It was physical, psychological , emotional, sexual, and the worst example of controlling coercive behaviour I had seen.
“There were thousands of messages, two thousand audio recordings, it gave a real visceral insight into how he is as a person. The way he would chip away at her, relentless, demanding, with incredible levels of entitlement – a genuine narcissist. He ticks all boxes for being a real narcissistic abuser.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk . If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit ** www.aafda.org.uk** .
