On the day Gareth Jones bravely took to the witness box to detail the appalling campaign of abuse he had suffered at the hands of his former girlfriend, student nurse Sarah Rigby, he received a text message from one of her many long-term partners.
They also heard how she attacked him with a glass candle holder scarring the bridge of his nose, kicked, bit, scratched and clawed at him, controlled his finances and made him sleep on the floor without a duvet when he was unable to satisfy her sexual needs. She would verbally abuse him too, calling him a ‘fat whale’.
Two previous partners had offered to give evidence for the prosecution about her relentless abuse. However, further testimony was no longer required when Rigby changed her plea from not guilty to guilty.written, though the reasons for his suicide are not clear. Gareth says he will ‘always be mentally and emotionally scarred’, confessing that he feels ‘nervous’ sharing the terrible detail of their nine-month relationship given the stigma associated with male victims of domestic violence. But he is determined to give this interview as a warning to other men.
After recently coming out of a two-and-a-half year relationship, Gareth hoped to meet someone with whom he could start a family. Rigby told him she wanted the same as they messaged for two weeks. They ended up in bed after the second date. ‘She became more and more affectionate. You think, “Oh my God, how can this beautiful lady be so enamoured with me?”
‘She’d say, “Men have always been monsters towards me.” You’d think, “Why would another man want to treat her like that?” It made me want to be there for her more.’Then the gaslighting started. Gareth did. Within weeks, she had put him on a diet consisting largely of salad and fruit and asked him to explore the possibility of having a hair transplant.
‘Then she said, “You’ve been spending the majority of your time here so you owe me back rent. I want you to pay me £700 a month moving forward and £1,400 for the last two months.” She said, “I’m a student nurse and you’re the money source. If you’re living with me now these are the rules you abide by. I said, “OK, can I have a key?” She said, “No.” I asked how I was supposed to come and go. She said, “When I come and go.