Jilted boyfriend is convicted over attacks that saw his ex-girlfriend stabbed in the face and doused in acid leaving her 'horrifically disfigured'

A jilted boyfriend has been found guilty of masterminding a horrific acid attack on his ex-girlfriend which left her 'horrifically disfigured'.

Beautician Adele Bellis, 23, lost an ear and was left partially bald after sulphuric acid was poured over her head as she sat at a bus stop in Lowestoft, Suffolk, last year.

The 'life-changing' attack was part of a six-month campaign by Anthony Riley designed to 'humiliate and control' his former partner of seven years, a court heard.

Five months earlier she had been brutally stabbed in the face after being led down a dark alley by Riley who had arranged for a masked man to be waiting with a knife.

The 26-year-old of Lowestoft, had denied false imprisonment, conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, but was found guilty after two hours and 15 minutes of jury deliberations.

Riley, whom Miss Bellis dated for around seven years, also posted a revenge porn sex video on Facebook in a bid to cause 'complete and utter shame and humiliation'.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Riley became 'consumed with jealousy' after their relationship ended in March and 'decided to control her by disfiguring her.'

'When these attempts to control her did not have the desired influence, he decided to go even further and exact revenge in the worst possible way,' prosecutor Andrew Jackson said.

He added that Miss Bellis had worked on cruise ships and as a beautician and was 'proud of her appearance and looks'. 

She has since undergone several operations for skin grafts and facial reconstruction surgery which is likely to continue throughout her life.

The attack left the victim in agony and witnesses described seeing smoke pouring from her skin.  

Miss Bellis told police: 'He got behind me and this bottle spilled liquid all over me. At first I thought 'oh my God he's messed up my hair'.
'After two or three seconds my skin just burned and I knew it was acid. I remember I was smoking, I was just crying and shouting 'I'm burning, I'm burning'.'

She said that the top she was wearing dissolved and holes appeared in her jeans.

Miss Bellis was in hospital for three weeks after the attack. She has undergone skin grafts and facial reconstruction surgery which is likely to continue throughout her life.

One couple who had also been waiting at the bus stop at the time of the incident later described how the 23-year-old started screaming in agony.

After the verdict was read out, Ms Bellis said she was glad that Riley - who subjected her to 'unimaginable pain and suffering' - would be locked away.

The court heard how Riley offered drug addict, John Green, £2,000 to attack Miss Bellis but he refused when he realised what was involved.

Eventually another man, Jason Harrison, who owed Riley money, agreed to do it.  

Miss Bellis, who had been in an on-and-off again relationship with Riley for seven years, told how the relationship was abusive and he regularly forced her to have sex in cars in public places, jurors heard.

The court heard how Riley subjected Miss Bellis to a campaign of harassment and abuse, including death threats, after she ended their relationship in March.

After she went to his flat to finish with him, Riley allegedly became violent and locked her inside for four hours.

In a video interview given by Miss Bellis to police last September, which was shown to the court, she told how she feared Riley would stab her.

Wearing a bandage wrapped around her head, she said: 'He was just getting my face and yelling at me.

'He just got my face and pushed it against the wall and he just punched me. I thought he was going to stab me.'

Mr Jackson said it was clear Miss Bellis did not want to be in a relationship with him but that Riley was 'consumed by jealousy'.

But the court heard Riley continued to see other women, even fathering one child. He told police he was with another woman on the night of the acid attack,

On the night when Miss Bellis was stabbed, the court was told how Riley asked her to meet him, before guiding her down an alleyway.

Thompson launched the attack and fled as Riley chased him. Thompson then gave Riley a minor injury to remove suspicion, said prosecutors.

Thompson, 39, of Lowestoft, has now been found guilty of wounding in connection with the April 29 knife attack.

Wanting to punish the victim further, Riley had then begun plotting the acid attack.

The court heard how he convinced Harrison to carry out the attack and demonstrated the strength of the acid to him by dropping a live mouse into a jar of the liquid.

Harrison attempted to back twice; first pouring the acid away and claiming he had dropped it, then failing to follow through with another plot on August 13.

But after Riley warned he had 'one more chance', he eventually completed the planned attack the following day.  

Harrison, 27, Lowestoft,  admitted that attack, saying he was forced to do it by Riley and has already admitted conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid with intent.

He told the court: 'He told me I had to pay £10,000 or I was going to get seriously hurt. He threatened my girlfriend. He said he would cut her up if I didn't do what he wanted.' 

He was also convicted of conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. 

A fourth man, Daniel Marshall, 38, of Haverhill, who was described as Riley's driver, has admitted conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid with intent.

Mr Jackson added that Riley had 12 convictions for offences including violence dating back to 2004, when he was 15. He was convicted of harassing Miss Bellis in 2012 and again last year after posting a revenge porn video featuring her on Facebook. 

Riley hung his head in the dock after the verdicts were returned. Judge John Devaux adjourned sentencing until the week beginning October 5.  

Miss Bellis' father Kevin Bellis, 55, and her mother Colleen, 51, said she had been attending weekly appointment at a specialist burn unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex, since the attack.

Mr Bellis added: 'Adele is just so strong. If it wasn't for her, we would all have crumbled. Riley is a guilty man, that is all we can say.' 

His wife, who said she couldn't bring herself to look at her daughter's attacker in the dock, described the assault as 'horrendous' 

Detective Inspector Darrell Skuse, who oversaw the enquiry as head of CID in Lowestoft, said; 'This was a pre-planned attack that will have long-lasting effects on the young woman who was targeted. The attack itself only lasted a matter of seconds but she will have to live with the consequences for the rest of her life.

'The victim has shown immense courage and strength throughout and it is thanks to her, and the dedicated work of the officers in the case, that this has seen these men convicted.' 

Officer in the case DC Matt Rogers added: 'Anthony Riley has proven himself to be a manipulative, evil and possessive individual who sought to coerce and intimidate a number of people around him in order for these offences to have been committed against Adele, relying on his so-called hard man image to cowardly distance himself from the acts themselves.

'I am grateful to all the members of the public who eventually came forward to cooperate with the investigation and go some way to bringing justice to Adele who can now start to rebuild her life with the assistance of her loving and supportive family, all of whom have been visibly devastated by the series of violent acts perpetrated against Adele.' 

Source: Daily mail