Scots mum's abusive ex branded 'M' for Mark into her skin to 'prove he owned her'
15.06.2022 - 07:39
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A Scots mum has told how her controlling ex branded her back with the letter M to prove 'he owned her' in an abusive relationship that lasted seven years.
Vile thug Martin Burns told Amanda McManus, 30, that no one would believe he was abusing her because the majority of the attacks were not physical.
During his reign of terror, the 31-year-old subjected Amanda, from Johnstone, to a torrent of emotional and physical trauma.
Burns was convicted at Paisley Sheriff Court on March 29 after pleading guilty to a charge of abusive behaviour towards his partner or ex-partner under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
Amanda told the Record: "He wouldn't let me go out with my friends and he was always checking my phone. He said I didn't need anyone else but him.
"He would constantly accuse me of having affairs with people and was even jealous of my relationship with my dad.
"He told me that no one else would ever want me and that I needed him financially."
Amanda said that as well as trying to prevent her from seeing friends and family, Burns told her she was his property.
She added: "He branded an M into my back using his nails one day. Then he took a photo and started laughing before he said to me 'I told you, I own you'."
Council worker Amanda said the abuse and controlling behaviour continued to escalate, but that Burns would threaten to harm himself if she went to the police, leaving the mum living in fear until she finally found the strength to report him.
She continued: "He kept telling me that if I ever went to the police he would kill himself and he would also say 'no one will believe you'. "
In another incident, Amanda claims Burns touched her inappropriately in front of their children despite her pleas for him to stop as