Brave woman took pictures of 'Rocky Balboa' injuries at hands of thug

Glasgow Times

16-07-2025

David McFadyen carried out a campaign of abuse which ran for almost a decade.
The woman was left fearing for her life at the violent hands of the 47-year-old engineer, who also tried to rape her.
She went on to take photos of the injuries he inflicted which helped bring McFadyen to justice.
He was found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Tom Hughes told McFadyen at sentencing that a 10-year extended sentence was "apropriate to protect the public from serious harm."
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McFadyen will be under supervision for two years upon his release from his eight year sentence.
The judge said: "It is abundantly clear from the media and various public sources that this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and will be dealt with properly by the courts.
"Hopefully the message will get through that this will not be tolerated.
"I read the victim impact statement which makes for troubling reading about the long term consequences of your behaviour has had on her.
"These factors makes this case extremely serious."
An indefinite non-harassment order was also granted which prohibits McFadyen's contact with the woman.
The ordeal spanned between 2014 and 2023 at different locations including Glasgow's East End and Lanarkshire.
McFadyen first struck after they had been at a gig together.
The traumatised woman went on to regularly become a victim of his temper.
This included once ordering her to put her head on a stair so he could "smash" it with a plank of wood.
After one incident, he was said to have callously remarked: "Look at the state of you. You look like you have done nine rounds with Rocky Balboa."
Burly McFadyen was described as "being in a different boxing division" to the size of the woman.
The jury was show graphic photos of some of the injuries she suffered.
She explained she took them "in case she was not here any more" to then help snare her attacker.
She told the court: "I did not want anything to happen to me and not be around for my kids. I was scared that might happen."
In his closing speech to jurors, prosecutor Alan Parfery said repeated demands for sex were "a defining feature" of the abuse.
This ended up in McFadyen carrying out the violent sex attack in early 2023.
McFadyen, of Bellshill, Lanarkshire, gave evidence in the trial. He refuted the allegations.
He denied once angrily "toppling" the woman out of bed claiming he "was not He-Man".
Mr Parfery put to McFadyen that texts he sent the woman appeared to be "confessions" to what he had done.
This included him stating he had "anger issues" and apologising that the victim "got the brunt of it again".
There was also a text of him remarking how he was "mega wrong" in how he behaved.
He denied this was him admitting to the abuse although accepted being annoyed what he thought were "private messages" were being revealed during the trial.
McFadyen became angry at time during his evidence also making sarcastic remarks about the prosecutor.
Asked about the injury photos, he stated: "I cannot explain what is inside her brain. I never done it."
It was put to McFadyen that he was not telling the truth in his evidence.
But, he replied: "I can tell when I lie because my nose gets bigger."
In his speech Mr Parfery also said CCTV footage of McFadyen being aggressive to the woman was "a glimpse into the terrifying world" she had to endure with him.
He stated by the woman bravely revealing how she had suffered she had "broken the doctrine of silence imposed on her".
The prosecutor added at one stage: "In the witness box, David McFadyen has tried to rewrite history."
McFadyen was convicted of five charges including attempted rape and repeated physical assaults.
McFadyen's defence counsel told the sentencing that he continues to profess his innocence.