In 2010 Berlinah Wallace, a fashion student, met Mark Van Dongen, an engineer, online using a website for people with HIV. In January of 2011, Mr van Dongen went to visit Wallace in Bristol, later moving in with her. In October of the same year Wallace poured boiling water on Van Dongen while he slept. According to family and friends domestic violence was constant throughout their relationship. Mark told his father and a colleague that he was afraid of Wallace and what she might do if he tried to leave. At some point in early 2015 their relationship ended and Van Dongen decided it was time to move on ultimately leaving Wallace’s apartment.

In July of 2015 Van Dongen met another woman by the name of Violet Farquharson, online. On 15 August he met Ms. Farquharson for coffee. Four days later they saw a movie together. On 20 August Mr van Dongen told Farquharson that Wallace attacked him. On 21 August He called 999 reporting that Wallace had taken an overdose. On 23 August Wallace threatened Mr van Dongen via text messages. On 27 August Wallace told a counsellor she felt “depressed, angry, betrayed and anxious”. On 28 August Wallace began making silent phone calls to Farquharson. She called Farquharson 14 times. After the phone calls began she sent Mark an email in which she claimed that her ex-husband had a heart attack.

On 2 September Wallace purchased a liter of sulphuric acid on Amazon. Later that evening Van Dongen called 999 to report Wallace’s continued harassment. On 3 September the police informed Wallace of Mr van Dongen’s complaint. At 7:35 pm she calls a mental health crisis team to inform them that she has taken an overdose. At 8:45 pm she was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. She was discharged the following day. On 13 September Wallace searched “how to talk to an ex-boyfriend about getting back together” and “what to talk about with an ex-boyfriend” on Google.

On 14 September Wallace searched “can I die from drink sulphuric acid”. She visited a website that reported an alleged acid attack court case. She visited a website showing post-mortem images of a man who has drank sulphuric acid. Wallace continued to contact Van Dongen. On the evening of 22 September, she convinced him to stop by so they could talk. Mark spent the night with Berlinah Wallace in her apartment. They were intimate. In the early morning hours of the next day, he was awakened by the sound of Wallace’s feet as she walked across the room toward him. When she got close to the night stand on the side of the bed that she slept on, she reached for a glass she’d placed there just after Van Dongen showed up. It was filled with sulphuric acid. He recalled hearing her laugh loudly after which she said, “If I can’t have you, no one else will.” Then in a fit of jealousy and rage she poured the acid over his face and mostly naked body.

Van Dongen’s face and much of his body were severely scarred after the attack. The acid burned through 25% of his body surface. He was paralysed from the neck down, lost most of his sight and his lower left leg had to be amputated. Mark was in a coma for 4 months. He was in constant agonizing pain and completely unable to care for himself. Van Dongen, who is originally from Holland, spent more than a year in a hospital in Bristol after the attack before family and friends hired a private ambulance to take him to Belgium, where the 29-year-old applied for euthanasia. He was examined by professionals and found to meet all the criteria necessary for individuals seeking euthanasia. The euthanasia was administered on 2 January 2017 at 7:15 PM.

Wallace, 49, was found guilty by a jury at Bristol crown court of throwing a corrosive substance with intent, she was however cleared of murder. Her lawyer successfully argued that Van Dongen had died at the hands of a doctor in Belgium not from what Wallace did, so she could not be guilty of murder. She was sentenced to life for throwing a corrosive substance with intent. She will be eligible for parole after serving 12 years.