Berlinah Wallace acid attack trial: woman who inflicted horrific injuries which drove ex Mark van Dongen to kill himself, cleared of murder

'Controlling, jealous and vindictive' Wallace, 48, guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent
Berlinah Wallace poured acid over her ex, leaving him with horrific injuries
PA
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A fashion student has been acquitted of murdering her former partner, who died by euthanasia after she threw acid over him as he lay sleeping.

Berlinah Wallace, 48, meticulously researched the effects of sulphuric acid before purchasing a bottle and throwing it over Mark van Dongen, 29, in September 2015.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Wallace - described as controlling, jealous and vindictive - attacked the engineer at her flat in Westbury Park, Bristol, after he left her for another woman.

Mr van Dongen was left grotesquely scarred, lost the sight in his left eye, his lower left leg had to be amputated and he was paralysed from the neck down.

Mark Van Dongen, left with his father Cornelius
PA

He went on to seek the help of doctors to allow him to die.

A jury of 10 men and two women acquitted Wallace of Mr van Dongen's murder or manslaughter but found her guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent.

The unanimous verdict was delivered on Thursday afternoon following 15 hours and 30 minutes of deliberations.

Mr van Dongen suffered "inconceivable pain" as a result of the attack
PA

Mrs Justice Nicola Davies adjourned sentencing until next week due to the "extremely serious nature" of the offence.

She will hear submissions from prosecution and defence teams on Tuesday and pass sentence on Wednesday.

Wallace threw a glass of acid over her ex as he slept
PA

Detective Inspector Paul Catton of Avon and Somerset Police said: "Mark van Dongen suffered the most inconceivable pain imaginable following what was a cowardly attack borne out of jealousy.

"He went from being a healthy young man with his whole life ahead of him to having extensive and repeated surgery on the most hideous injuries just to keep him alive.

"In the end, his pain was so devastating, so catastrophic, he sought the assistance of doctors to help him die.

"While the jury has concluded Wallace's actions did not amount to murder, we felt it was the right thing to do to ask them to consider the charge based on the evidence."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT