A vicious bully who "gratuitously and cruelly" left his girlfriend beaten, bitten, broken and burnt has been jailed for life.

Callous Ozgur Suyolcu subjected the woman to a torturous ordeal in her flat in Tunbridge Wells for up to two weeks, using weapons such as a clothes steamer, a metal bicycle 'D' lock and a hammer.

As well as suffering from horrific burns to her abdomen, back and limbs, she had multiple fractures to her jaw, shoulder blades, breastbone, spine, ribs, and right arm, together with two punctured and partially collapsed lungs and numerous bite marks.

Then, close to death and unable to move, she had to endure lying severely injured in her own urine until she summoned enough courage and strength to dial 999.

When police arrived, they found her pale, weak and gasping for breath while Suyolcu just sat in another room watching TV before blaming drug dealers for the violent attack but saying she did not need an ambulance.

Even after his arrest and being charged, the 30-year-old tried to exert control over his victim from behind bars while on remand in custody.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that there were "very many communications" between the pair, with Suyolcu initially using his own mother as a go-between before telling his victim to use a different name and number so he could contact her via the prison's own phone system.

‘She didn't deserve what she went through and is still going through...’

He even tried to convince her to has his name tattooed on her face.

The contact led to the legal proceedings against him having to be delayed to allow police time to investigate the extensive number of calls, voicenotes and messages.

However, on what should have been the first day of his trial, Suyolcu pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent between March 20 and April 14 last year, and controlling or coercive behaviour between June 1, 2023, and July 27, 2024.

A more serious charge of attempted murder, which he denied, was left on file.

At that court hearing in March this year, it was also said that he had "branded" the woman with a homemade tattoo of his name cut into her leg, although he continues to dispute responsibility.

Sentencing was then adjourned for a report to assess dangerousness.

Appearing at the same court today (June 13) before Mr Justice Murray, Suyolcu heard not only the enduring physical and psychological impact on the victim, but also on her family, who said his "evil acts" would live with them forever.

The judge himself remarked it was "one of the worst cases of extreme domestic violence not involving the death of the victim" that the court had ever heard.

Suyolcu was therefore told a life sentence was demanded, given the danger he posed, and that he would have to serve at least 13 years before he can apply for parole, less time served on remand.

Prosecutor Ryan Richter said the couple's relationship began in September 2022 and, although described as "good", was also "very intense", with Suyolcu appearing to be "very protective" of his girlfriend.

However, the relationship changed after his release from prison in the summer of 2023 for an offence of dangerous driving.

The court was told Suyolcu not only became increasingly jealous, controlling and violent, but he began assaulting her in the street and she later felt compelled to lie that a cut and bruised eye he had inflicted with a punch had occurred in a fall.

He also alienated her from family and friends, making it very plain, said Mr Richter, that he "hated" them and so she felt it was safer to be remain "distant and disconnected".

When she was at work in a cafe, he would bombard her with calls, and she was later forced to quit another job when he posted fake online reviews that staff were drug takers and lacing food with cocaine.

Mr Richter said the defendant's control over the victim meant she had to report "every aspect of her life" to him, including what she was wearing, eating, and even, as someone with diabetes, her insulin levels.

His conduct then escalated to regular beatings and damaging her property, including her insulin pens and sensor, before resulting in extreme violence with his assault in April last year.

"The defendant subjected her to a horrific course of violence over a period of time and which, in due course, was to leave her disabled so she could not move and, the Crown say, close to dying," said the prosecutor.

"She was injured from head to toe with almost no part of her body left unaffected."

A pathologist later concluded that her injuries were "extreme and potentially fatal".

The court heard her five burns, one measuring as large as 15cm by 9cm, all had a "similar and distinct pattern" matching a steamer found in the flat.

The victim had initially dialled 999 on April 13 last year to ask for an ambulance but quickly claimed to have phoned in error when Suyolcu could be heard in the background.

However, a few hours later she made a second emergency call, this time to police.

"She told them they needed to come and that she didn't have long," Mr Richter told the court.

"Two officers made their way to her flat and found Ozgur Suyolcu in the living room watching TV.

"He said he was going to go out shortly for the evening, that (the victim) was in the bedroom and that she had been attacked outside because of problems with drug dealers.

"He admitted she was in a bad way but said she didn't need an ambulance or any assistance.

"An officer went into the bedroom and immediately noticed the room smelt of urine.

"It was clear as she lay on the bed she had wet herself and she told police she couldn't move her body and her ribs and jaw hurt.

"She asked the officer to close the door and said the defendant had beaten her and had burnt her. She said she had been on the bed for days.

"She said she had tried to call for an ambulance but he caught her doing it. She was pale, weak and gasping for breath."

The woman spent several weeks in King's College Hospital, London, had to undergo two operations to her arm, and has been left scarred.

She later gave a video recorded interview to police in which she detailed how her boyfriend had repeatedly attacked her with punches, kicks, a hammer, solid bicycle lock and then a steamer after she had taken a shower.

"When she came out, the defendant was holding a clothes steaming device. He was angry and refused to let her pass," explained Mr Richter.

‘She was in so much pain I couldn't even hold her hand...’

"He burnt her to her front. She said she screamed in pain and turned around but he burnt her again to her back and then to her leg.

"The series of assaults left her increasingly injured and she ultimately found herself unable to move from her bed.

"Her head and legs were swollen, she could not eat or speak properly and over the course of the days, he bought her drinks occasionally but refused to call an ambulance."

Suyolcu, of Bluehouse Road, Chingford in Essex, was arrested but gave 'No comment' interviews.

The victim also told police about the contact they had while he was on remand, and which had been instigated by Suyolcu using his mum as an intermediary to forward on messages between the pair.

He initially tried to rekindle a relationship "with charm", said Mr Richter, before again exerting increasing control and indicating he wanted her to tell police others were to blame for his attack.

The woman was left not only in fear of what might happen if he was released but also "very conflicted" as she felt his expressions of love were genuine, added the prosecutor.

She also accepted she had responded to him with "love and affection" in what was a very traumatic and confusing period for her.

In a series of impact statements made by her, as well as her parents and sister, the court heard of the life-changing and long-reaching consequences of Suyolcu's conduct.

The victim described how when she made her 999 call she was "very frightened he would assault me again and I was scared I wouldn't survive".

She also detailed how she had been left with feelings of guilt and blame, and how she wanted to hate her ex-partner but struggled to do so.

Explaining her continuing fear, she added: "I still know I will be very scared when he is released, and I'm already thinking about that day and how it will affect my future.

"From calling the police in April 2024 until now, I feel extremely anxious. I still have lots of feelings of guilt and blame myself for Ozgur being in prison."

Her father described how the defendant's "cowardly and calculating" efforts to control had led to an "alarming" change in his daughter, leaving the family not only "bewildered, in shock and fearful" but also seeking help from professional organisations to break his hold over her.

He also told the court that the sight of her in hospital, "completely broken in body and spirit", would be "forever imprinted on my brain".

But referring to her efforts to recover from her ordeal, he praised her "determination, tenacity and achievements".

"She didn't deserve what she went through and is still going through," he added. "She is brave and courageous and finally resetting her life."

Her mother explained how she had an "intense" fear she was dead when police called and that the sight of her in hospital would "haunt" her forever.

"She was in so much pain I couldn't even hold her hand. I could only kiss her on her forehead, which was one of the few places on her broken body where she could tolerate touch," she told the court.

"Her first words to me were 'Don't make me cry'."

Of Suyolcu, she continued: "This person slowly but surely took away everything that was important in her life.

"He took away her security and her trust in family and friends. He took away her health, her vitality, her confidence and freewill.

"Finally, he took away her right to feel safe in this world by subjecting her to a world of pain and confusion.

"I don't know where this would have ended if she had not been able to make that 999 call and tell the operator she needed help. How brave is that?

‘I don't see any proper evidence of you feeling real remorse...’

"She told me in hospital that if she had not made that call she would have never seen me again.

"She must have been so frightened to believe she was so close to dying."

Suyolcu, who has 13 previous convictions for 28 offences, including several for violence and domestic abuse of another former partner, was said by his lawyer to be "ashamed and deeply regretful" of his actions.

Ibraheem Hussain also told the court that his client, who had himself witnessed abuse as a child and been bullied at school, had not "appreciated" the extent of his victim's injuries.

But he said Suyolcu "knows what he has done is wrong" and that a significant prison sentence would follow.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Murray told Suyolcu that he had shown very little in terms of remorse for his conduct, which culminated with his partner "virtually being held captive" by him as he subjected her to "sustained and vicious" assaults.

He also said the breaking of her insulin pens and sensor was a "striking example of his gratuitous and cruel treatment", and that the pre-sentence report made "grim reading".

"It shows the very limited extent of your insight and understanding of your offending, a lack of empathy, your self-pity and the minimisation of your conduct," the judge told Suyolcu.

"In my view there are no mitigating factors of any weight. I don't see any proper evidence of you feeling real remorse.

"I acknowledge today you say you feel ashamed for what you have done but it carries little weight."

But the judge commended the bravery and dignity shown by the victim and her family in what was, he said, an "extremely distressing" case.

Highlighting what he described as the profound physical and psychological effect suffered, he told Suyolcu: "I have heard today in court the personal statements about the impact the offences have had on the victim.

"It is a particularly sad feature of this case that she, who has done nothing wrong and has suffered terribly at your hands, feels guilty that you are in custody despite the fact that had she not gone to police when she did, the evidence shows there was a high chance she would have died from the accumulative effect of the injuries you had inflicted."

Suyolcu, who has already served 424 days on remand, was told by Mr Justice Murray that under a life sentence he faced remaining behind bars beyond his minimum term.

Detective Constable Emily Hill said: “The sheer brutality of Suyolcu’s actions towards his victim was truly horrifying. He would regularly beat her for no reason before the terrifying violence she was forced to endure escalated to savage attacks with a hammer. There is little doubt that had she not summoned the extraordinary courage to reach out for help and call the police she may not have survived.

“The victim has suffered tremendously but is also incredibly resilient and brave and I do hope that now Suyolcu can cause her no further harm, she can move on with her life and once again feel safe. We continue to urge all victims of domestic abuse to come forward, confident in the knowledge they will receive the best possible service.

“Remember, you are not to blame for what is happening and you can report it to us or contact several support organisations who can and will help you.”