Delia Balmer's chilling premonition of boyfriend John Sweeney 'cutting her to bits'

After Delia Balmer learned the horrifying information astir her spouse John Sweeney, she had a terrifying realisation that helium would past travel for her adjacent - which saw her past unfortunate of a life-changing axe attack

Delia Balmer lived successful fearfulness of her evil ex, John Sweeney - and she had a chilling premonition that helium would 1 time termination her.

When she archetypal met Sweeney successful a Camden pub successful 1991, caregiver Delia thought they were kindred spirits, bonded by a shared emotion of travel. However, Sweeney's acheronian broadside started to look aft helium moved into her home, with his assertive behaviour escalating into malevolent violence.

In her 2017 publication Living With a Serial Killer, which has helped pass the chilling caller ITV play Until I Kill You, Delia recalled: "Subtle changes happened slowly. I should've known thing was incorrect but I americium excessively brushed and trusting. I'd ne'er travel crossed thing similar it before."

Little did Delia cognize successful those aboriginal days that Sweeney had already killed 1 woman and would spell connected to termination another. She besides didn't cognize conscionable however adjacent she herself would travel to decease astatine the hands of the cruel carpenter, who would aboriginal go known arsenic the 'Scalp hunter'.

Things took a nightmarish crook successful the outpouring of 1994 however, erstwhile Sweeney held Delia hostage successful her ain location implicit respective terrifying days, raping her and threatening to mutilate her lingua with a room weapon if she screamed.

It was past that Delia learned what diabolical Sweeney was truly susceptible of, aft helium confessed to the execution of his ex-girlfriend, the American exemplary and lensman Melissa Halstead, and 2 different men successful Amsterdam. Melissa's remains had been recovered from a Rotterdam canal successful 1990 but, astatine that time, they hadn't been identified and a perpetrator hadn't been found.

After being cautious not to choler Sweeney further, Delia managed to past her hostage ordeal, portion Sweeney fled the flat. Delia reported Sweeney to the police, and helium was sent to northbound London's Pentonville Prison, lone to beryllium released connected bail. It was past that Delia experienced a devastating premonition. Speaking with the Mirror successful 2017, Delia said: "I thought: 'He volition bash something. He volition chopped maine to bits. Just similar helium had Melissa'. The infinitesimal I discovered helium was out, I was connected edge. I knew helium would beryllium coming for me."

Horrifyingly, her gut feeling proved each excessively accurate. Shortly earlier Christmas that year, Sweeney attacked Delia with an axe connected her ain doorstep, puncturing her lung, breaking some her arms and stabbing her successful her bosom and thigh. He besides chopped disconnected her small finger, which Delia recalls seeing 'flying done the air'.

She remembered: "On the doorstep, I saw this digit alert done the air, and I thought: 'That's it. I don't privation to unrecorded anymore. I don't privation to unrecorded successful this choler and pain'. So I wasn't blessed erstwhile I woke up successful an intensive attraction unit. I thought: 'Oh no, I americium alive. Now what hell?'"

Delia thankfully survived the onslaught aft a neighbour intervened and Sweeney fled into the night. This would beryllium the past she'd spot of him for 7 years. By this point, her panic had turned into thing else, with Delia admitting she felt arsenic though she herself had died successful the aftermath of the attack. Delia shared: “As acold arsenic I’m concerned, I person died. This is not me. This is thing else. John Sweeney killed Delia connected the factual steps.”

Reflecting connected the years aft Sweeney vanished from her doorstep, Delia continued: "Everybody said to me: ‘Oh, I would perpetually beryllium looking down my backmost if I were you.’ And I said: ‘I don’t care, it’s excessively late. I americium not frightened anymore due to the fact that I americium not maine anymore. I was scared, and I was terrified erstwhile I was whole.

“But aft the onslaught it was excessively late, I didn’t attraction and I wanted to dice anyway. I didn’t privation to unrecorded successful this assemblage that’s each messed up. I felt similar that for the full six years, and I inactive benignant of consciousness similar that. He wanted maine to dice successful pain, and he’s got his wish. I americium going to dice successful pain, mentally and physically.”

While connected the run, Sweeney killed mum-of-three Paula Fields successful 2000, throwing her assemblage into London's Regent’s Canal. Sweeney was yet caught and arrested successful 2001 and handed a nine-year custodial condemnation for the onslaught connected Delia.

While serving clip astatine Leicestershire's Gartree Prison, Sweeney was besides questioned astir the deaths of Melissa and Paula, with officers believing determination could good beryllium a connection. Eventually, advances successful DNA technology, paired with Delia's testimony, helped authorities physique a lawsuit against evil Sweeney, and bring him to justice.

Sweeney was recovered blameworthy of some murders and successful 2011 helium was sentenced to beingness imprisonment without the anticipation of parole. The BBC reports that it's believed Sweeney could person killed 3 different women who were reported missing betwixt the years 1970 and 1990.

Although Sweeney is present down bars, Delia inactive struggles to find peace, and volition proceed to consciousness symptom for the remainder of her life. Remarking that she feels she volition ne'er beryllium free, Delia said: "Even aft each these years, the scars and the symptom are a changeless reminder of my beingness with a serial killer. I inactive don't spot this body, and what mightiness spell incorrect with it. It is inactive a alien to me. I americium trapped successful this situation with nary accidental of appeal. He mightiness beryllium successful prison, but for me, nary justness has been served."

The nationalist home maltreatment helpline offers enactment for women connected 0808 2000 247, oregon you tin sojourn the Refuge website. There is simply a dedicated men’s proposal line on 0808 8010 327. Those successful the US tin telephone the home unit hotline connected 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other planetary helplines tin beryllium recovered via www.befrienders.org

You tin drawback Until I Kill You: The Real Story this evening (November 7) astatine 9pm connected ITV1.

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