Oldham man tortured pregnant girlfriend in brutal four-hour ordeal

Jealous ex-boyfriend who handcuffed his pregnant partner to a radiator and tortured her in brutal four-hour ordeal before letting her go when she faked going into labour is jailed for six years

• Jake Corry, 30, attacked pregnant girlfriend Amy McFarlane, 27, with a sword
• He tied her to a radiator for hours at their home in Oldham, Greater Manchester 

A heavily pregnant woman who was brutally tortured and handcuffed to a radiator for four hours by her ‘paranoid’ partner only managed to escape by feigning going into labour.

Amy McFarlane, 27, was at 36 weeks’ gestation when her then-boyfriend Jake Corry, 30, flew into a rage and accused her of cheating on him at their home in Failsworth, near Oldham, Greater Manchester.

He carried out his campaign of terror on January 29 last year by slashing her with a combat sword, saying: ‘This is just the beginning.’ 

He then struck her over the head with a hammer, strangled her and threatened to pull out her toenails with a pair of pliers. At the time, he was on bail over a previous assault upon Ms McFarlane.

The ordeal came to an end only when the expectant mother pretended that her waters had broken and pleaded for Corry to release her, saying: ‘The baby’s coming!’

Amy McFarlane, 27, was at 36 weeks’ gestation when her then-boyfriend Jake Corry, 30, flew into a rage and accused her of cheating on him at their home in Failsworth, near Oldham, Greater Manchester

Jake Corry, 30, carried out his campaign of terror on January 29 last year by slashing Ms McFarlane with a combat sword, telling her: ‘This is just the beginning’

At Minshull Street Crown Court in  Manchester, Corry was jailed for six years after he was found guilty of false imprisonment, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and criminal damage.

 Ms McFarlane, who has since given birth to a healthy child, told police: ‘I have sustained flashbacks and have nightmares all the time. It has significantly impacted my mental health… I remain terrified of him.’

In sentencing, Judge Edmund Fowler told Corry: ‘You pose a high risk of harm to members of the public because of your violent history of behaviour.’

The hearing was told the couple had got together in March 2021 and Ms McFarlane became pregnant the following June, but they were said to have a ‘toxic and unhealthy relationship’. 

Ben Lawrence, prosecuting, said: ‘He was paranoid and jealous and would falsely accuse her of cheating on him, of taking drugs, and of trying to poison him. He was also violent towards her.’

The couple split the following October after he turned up at her home drunk, punched her in the face, then grabbed her best friend by the hair and smashed her head against the floor.

But although Corry was arrested, charged and bailed on condition he did not contact the victim, trouble began again on January 24 last year when she agreed to let him attend a baby scan.

Mr Lawrence added: ‘He invited her to spend the weekend with him and although she was in two minds agreed to do so. The Friday evening went well, however, on the Saturday evening there was a dispute, caused by his paranoia.

Ms McFarlane, who later gave birth to a healthy baby, said: ‘I have nightmares all the time. It has significantly impacted my mental health… I remain terrified of him’

‘She began sending messages to try and get home but he grabbed her phone from her and when she grabbed it back he took from a drawer a combat sword, with a blade around 45cm in length.

‘He put the blade to her neck and threatened to cut her and told her she needed to “start talking”. She pointed out that she was pregnant but he was rambling to himself and he then cut her hand and drew blood.

‘He then told her she was “going to get more than that”, threatened her with the sword and began questioning her about various males, none of whom she knew.

‘Amy was crying and tried to tell him she was telling the truth but despite being terrified, she tried to calm him down by saying she loved him.

‘He seemed to calm down for a while but if she moved he would pick up the sword again and held it to her face. He also bit her face, threw objects at her and used a set of handcuffs to chain her to a radiator.

‘He threatened to disfigure her, picked up a pair of pliers and threatened to pull her toenails off with them. He threatened to cut her hair off with a pair of scissors and threatened to make a bomb out of fireworks, sugar and gunpowder, saying he was going to blow her up.

After being admitted to hospital, Ms MacFarlane confided to a midwife what had happened to her and Corry fled to London

‘He also picked up a hammer and hit her on the head with it and bit and strangled her. At one point, she was able to pick up the hammer and swing it at him but none of her physical defence was successful in stopping the ordeal.

‘She eventually hit upon a more successful tactic…. by telling the defendant the baby was coming. He snapped out of his rage and asked what he needed to do and then began crying, hugging her and apologising.

‘He called an ambulance but when it arrived, he insisted on accompanying Amy to hospital. He instructed her to tell medical staff that she had fallen over, to explain her injuries but at the hospital a midwife took her away from the defendant to a separate room on the pretext of needing to weigh her. Once she was away from him, Amy disclosed that he had assaulted her and threatened to kill her.’

Corry was later arrested in London and unsuccessfully tried to escape through a glass door when he was being treated in hospital. Later, while remanded in custody, he spat at an officer who stopped him tying a grey sweatshirt around his neck.

He denied any wrongdoing and sent his former girlfriend a text message saying: ‘You need to tell them I tried to kill myself and you tried to stop me and went in labour.’

Corry was also convicted of battery and assault on an emergency worker. Following his release, he will be on licence until 2032 under the terms of an extended sentence. He has 35 previous offences on his record, for which he has mainly received non-custodial sentences.

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