A mother-of-two who was brutally attacked and left blind by her ex-partner while her children slept fears for her life after learning he has been moved to an open prison. Tina Nash, 44, was subjected to a horrific 12-hour ordeal in April 2011 when Shane Jenkin gouged out her eyes, strangled her, and broke her nose in a violent assault. The attack left her permanently blind, and despite multiple operations, surgeons were unable to save her sight.
Jenkin, now 45, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 after admitting grievous bodily harm (GBH) at Truro Crown Court. At the time, he was ordered to serve a minimum of six years and was detained in a secure mental health unit, reported Liverpool Echo.
However, Ms Nash is now living in fear after discovering that, despite having six parole bids rejected, he has been transferred to an open prison. According to the Manchester Evening News, She told the PA news agency she is terrified he could be released and that she believes he still poses a danger.
“I’m really scared because I don’t think he’ll leave it, especially because I’ve spoken out about what he’s done,” she said. “I think that he has been sitting there this whole entire time kicking himself that he did not finish me off.”
In an open prison, Jenkin is eligible for temporary release under license, meaning he could leave for short periods for work or to visit seriously ill relatives. Ms Nash, originally from Liverpool, met Jenkin in a club in Penzance, Cornwall, in 2009. She described the first eight months of their relationship as loving, but then things took a dark turn.
“The first time that he actually properly turned on me and actually beat me up was in April 2010. Then in that last year it was just nothing but beatings, and strangulations, it was just constant—the police raiding my house. I’ve never felt on edge like that before in all my life. I didn’t even know I was a victim,” she said.
Recalling the night of the attack, Ms Nash explained how Jenkin rolled her up in a blanket while he continued his violent assault.
“I didn’t know what was going on—I didn’t know I was blind,” she said. “I was touching the left side of my cheek, and I felt my eyeball down on my cheek, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t remember him jumping on me. I don’t remember him beating me. I don’t remember him gouging my eyes out. I don’t remember him rolling me up. He thought I was dead.”
Following the attack, she underwent reconstructive surgery to have prosthetic eyes implanted, but her life has been forever changed. Now, with her attacker’s new prison status giving him more freedom, she fears for her safety and worries that other women could be at risk.
