A 22-year-old woman who suffered catastrophic brain injuries after being kidnapped three years ago has said her first word in three years.
Angel Lynn was grabbed and bundled into a silver transit van in September 2020 by her controlling ex-boyfriend, Chay Bowskill, 20, in Rothley, Leicestershire.
She later fell head first from the van which was travelling at 60mph onto the dual carriageway near Loughborough, leaving her paralysed and with severe brain damage.
Following the horror ordeal, her parents were told she would not survive but her mother, Nikki, 48, has since revealed the 22-year-old said “mum” during a recent hospital visit.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “She said it the first time and I just couldn’t believe it. I thought I have got to get it on camera, because she sometimes doesn’t always do things a second time. I asked her to do it again and she did it straight away.
“I was in the hospital. I just walked in, and then she was groaning. It started when I said, ‘Angel you know if you’re making those sorts of sounds, you must be able to say something’.
“That’s when I started making sounds myself and it just came out. I had no warning or anything. I thought she’d never speak again. You don’t like to get your hopes up.”
Angel’s parents also spoke about their daughter’s changes in behaviour after she started a relationship with Bowskill, who is serving a 12-year sentence.
They said she began to avoid wearing make-up, and would always have her hair tied in a bun, as opposed to having it down like she used to.
Angel’s first word since the attack comes months after a Channel 4 documentary showed her using sign language to tell her mother, “I love you too”.
She is defying expectations for her recovery, completing everyday tasks such as making a cup of tea, while she can also use an iPad to write.
Bowskill was sentenced to seven-and-half years in prison for kidnap, coercive and controlling behaviour, and perverting the course of justice.
However, the sentence was later increased to 12 years by the Court of Appeal.
Judges said the original term “failed to reflect the seriousness of the kidnap” and the harm caused to Ms Lynn as a result.
