My beautiful house in the UK
The minute I walked into this house I knew it was home. I had a wonderful job working in the printing industry, I had a good car and life was ok. I loved my job I had been in the printing industry for 23 years had an HNC in print technology and a degree in Print Media & Management. I held a bank of international clients, I held monthly meetings with clients, worked on service level agreements, shareholder value and monthly performance reporting. I just loved my job. It was in the year of 2004 that my husband told me I had to leave my job as I wasn't getting home early enough to cook his dinner and he wanted me to get a job closer. I was, at the time, working in Battersea and it was taking me 2 hours to travel to work and 2 hours home, plus I was on call 24/7 . I managed to get a job locally with a large drop in salary. I lost my company car, phone & laptop and many thousands is income just to be able to cook him a meal at 7am. I didn't like my new job, it was owned by a man who had built it up from nothing and wouldn't let anyone do their job he wanted control & the last say. I think I was not really needed and I fought everyday just to keep my head above water and on top of things. Well In October 2004, just 2 months after starting my new job, my husband attacked me put my head through the banisters of the stairs dragged me through to the living room smashed my head on the coffee table and then proceeded to strangle me. If my son hadn't jumped on his back I would not her here now.
My Son
My daughter
I spent several weeks with concussion and in bed unable to lift my head off the pillow. I then had to go through a terribly harrowing court case which put my husband in jail and then the divorce which took months and thousands and which he fought all the way ended in court. I then contracted a really bad case of pneumonia which lasted 2 months and I lost my job. Can't blame them really as I had been unwell, stressed and unable to function almost all the time I had been there. This lead me to be without a job no money due to the divorce and a bad case of depression. I then picked myself up and got a job in the Drs surgery cleaning. They were lovely people and it was a job where I could recover from my stress, head in injury and have a good laugh. It was at this point a man walked into my life and totally took over. He pretended to be very religious and God fearing and understanding to my past. He knew all about what had happened and on his first knock at the door wanted to know if the speed boat outside my house was for sale as he said he did things up and sold them. Well I wasn't even thinking he could be interested in me but he kept popping around nearly every day. One time he knocked on my door saying he had had a bad day and wanted to do something nice for me. Well there he was standing there with a tumble drying in front of him, he came in and fitted it. All my friends said he likes me, but I just dismissed the idea as I didn't think I was desirable. Anyway after he had taken the speed boat, making the arrangement to paint my bathroom for me in return, he then asked me if he could look around in the garage. I had never met anyone so lovely he couldn't do enough and was going over and above the call of duty for me and my family. He was a painter and decorator and was originally from Australia. He said he had married an English girl was had treated him so badly and broke his heart. He knew (somehow) that I had old british bikes and lots of tools in the garage, it was in fact packed out.
The Australian
he made short work of clearing out the garage with all my ex husbands things, who was in prison at the time, he left a few bits but made sure he got most of it. In return he said he would paint my house. He did do some of the work but he never really finished off anything. By this time he had wormed his way into my parents lives, taking my mum to hospital appointments, when I was unable to. Taking my dad to town and generally being there for everything. He told me that anything I wanted to do I had to ask him first and he will sort it or deal with it for me I didn't need think anymore. Well at the time I was totally in his spell as I was still recovering and have fainting attacks, all due to stress so I found out later, and was told not to drive until they had found out what was causing them. I was given some strong pills from the Dr for the headaches I was getting, I didn't realise but I had a reaction them them. They made me disorientated and dizzy unable to think straight. He took me to hospital saying I had taken an overdose and he was unable to look after me and that they should keep me in. They did and found nothing wrong with me as when the pills wore off I was ok. He took all my pills away and told the children I was a drug addict and I had to ask him if I wanted a headache pill as I couldn't be trusted and may take another overdose!! Telling my parents a story and worrying them everyone thought I was on drugs which I wasn't. He was then taking about maybe we should split my house into two and he could give me half the value of my house move in downstairs move me and my children upstairs and I would have enough money to live on. I agreed (like an idiot) and put his name on my house for £1 and waited for the money for half the value of the house. It never came. All his friends wondered why I was still in debt as he had told them all that he had given me half the value and saved a poor single mother and was trying to help me out as much as possible. He had told me that he would build a couple of rooms in the loft for us but never did so my son had a pull out bed in the kitchen and my bedroom was the living room as well we were totally cramped and broke. He had us all totally under his control, spell and we were unaware of his ideas and terrible plan. My mother, thinking he was in love with me and we were going to be together one day, suggested that we all sell our houses and buy a big house in the South of England so in their old age we would be there for them. As soon as he heard about this he had found a place in France which had two run ways, he was a pilot. He persuaded my parents that it would be a great idea he would do all the work making a holiday business for us all and we put the money in. He then remortgaged my house and with the money he bought a plane, a lorry, quad bikes paid off his debts (which I didnt know he had) his credit cards and loans. He used £70,000 in a space of a few months. He then transferred £24,000 to his personal account and when questioned shouted at me that I was mental and didnt know what I was doing and if I cant get sorted he will leave us all. At the time he had made me feel like I was mental and going mad and on drugs and everything else he could put into my head.
The lorry
the plane bought with my house money
Cutting a very long story short he had a scary temper used to frighten the kids with talk about the devil coming to get them and if he didn't get his own way would thrash out. Over the next few years he spent every penny of mine, my fathers, the childrens. To the extent that he persuaded my father to buy him a 4 seater plane for client joy flights, my father took out a loan, telling the bank as he ordered him to, that it was for home decorations. He told my father he would pay the monthly repayments of £297 but paid only one month the rest was paid for by my father and being an honest man was frightened to make a fuss and so ended up paying £18,000 over 4 years out of his pension. He bought a Chrysler voyager and persuaded my dad to part exchange his new car he had just bought for it and asked dad for a cheque for £3500 for the balance. He then took my credit card and signed my name for the balance and banked the cheque into his account. These are just a few account of many that he did over the 3 years he was in our lives. In September 2009 he left saying he was going to the UK for 3 days work would come back and would send any month he makes back. He left my parents with no running water as he had cut off their water before he left as there was a leak but didn't fix it. He had changed all their plugs to UK plugs so when my mother was dying she couldn't have her oxygen plugged in. We had no heating as all his pipe work had broken. He had left us with massive bills one for 3 months electric was for 1700 euro.
Mum and dad - last picture before mum came home to be with her family before she died
He told us he was living in the back of his van in the UK, the van which was paid for by the sale of my house. He told us he had no work he had no money. We found out from the police that he was living in a flat had remarried and I also found out he owed the tax man around £6000 for that year. Something you don't get to owe if you have no work.
A lesson learnt and I hope by telling a short version of my story that it might help other people who might be in a very dark place and have a 'Knight in shining Armour' come into their lives and see too good to be true, well they probably are. Much of what he told us was untrue and even his ex wife contacted me afterwards saying she knew he would do this to us but knew she couldn't warn us as he was so good at talking his way into and out of a paper bag he would twist it around and we wouldn't believe her.
Since his departure I have started up my own business, caring for animals and houses and portrait drawing. I lost my mother in July 2010 she died living in one room no heating or running water no money or home comforts but she had her family around her. I have fought to keep our heads above water and kept optimistic and moving forward.
Just remember there are impostors out there people pretending to be religious, kind and caring but they are just a shell there is nothing inside no conscience and they are out for all they can get. People who pray on unfortunate people who are in a bad place they don't care who they hurt, they have the gift of the gab and we feel that we were put under his spell unable to see outside the bubble. After he left and the shock of what had happened to us over the last three years sunk in we suddenly felt set free and not under control.
His name is David Hitchcock and he might knock on your door one day please don't fall for his charm.
If anyone feels they are going through the same thing or in a dark place please contact me sometimes its good to talk to someone who understands.
No comments:
Post a Comment