Latest news with #LockedUpInLouisiana
Irish Daily Mirror
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Acid attack robbed Katie Piper of chance to have third baby
Heartbroken Katie Piper has told how injuries from her acid attack 17 years ago have robbed her of the chance to have a third baby. The TV star, 41, was trying for a third child with husband Richard Sutton in 2023. But she needed an emergency op on her blind left eye and doctors advised any pregnancy would have to wait. Katie, mum to Belle, 11, and Penelope, seven, has made a documentary about female prisoners in Louisiana. She told today's Notebook magazine: 'So many women missed their kids. It started to make me think, this is my last chance to have another baby, I'm going to be 40 and if I don't do it now, I never will. I said to my husband, 'If we want another baby, let's do it now,' and we started trying.' Katie lives with effects of the 2008 acid attack every day. Daniel Lynch, jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years for raping her and arranging the attack, has a parole hearing in June. Katie said: 'You can't be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries so that scuppered that and we had a break. We tried again, but it didn't happen.' Katie, who has had 400 operations for her injuries, rejected IVF, unable to face more 'medical things and hospitals'. To ease her pain, she began volunteering at a dog rescue centre, which led her to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home where she met For the Love of Dogs presenter Alison Hammond. 'We got our dog from Battersea. Alison helped me pick the right dog for us – a calm female.' The cockapoo cross pup, which they named Sugar, has completed their family. Locked Up In Louisiana is available from today on U&W, at 9pm.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Katie Piper, 41, heartbreakingly reveals how emergency surgery forced her to give up desire to have a third child
Katie Piper has emotionally revealed how she had to give up on her dream to have a third child because of an emergency operation. The TV presenter, 41, is a mother to two daughters - Belle, 11, and Penelope, seven - and revealed she and her husband Richard Sutton tried for a third child. She said spending a mother with jailed mums in New Orleans Parish Prison - while filming TV show Locked Up - made her want to try for a third baby, after hearing heartbreaking stories from prisoners who were missing their children. She told The Mirror: 'It started to make me think, 'This is my last chance to have another baby, I'm going to be 40. And if I don't do it now, I never will.' Shortly before her 40th birthday, Katie and Richard started trying to have another child before she had to undergo an emergency surgery on her eye. Katie had to go under general anaesthetic for the operation on her left eye - which was damaged in a horrific acid attack in 2008, orchestrated by a man she briefly dated. 'I had to have a general anaesthetic and you can't be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries,' Katie explained. 'So that scuppered that and we had a break. We tried again, but it just didn't happen.' Katie considered IVF, but after enduring over 250 operations since the 2008 acid attack, she couldn't face more hospital appointments or the emotional toll if it didn't work, so reluctantly gave up the dream of having a third child. However, Katie still felt something was missing, so, Katie started volunteering at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, where she adopted an adorable puppy. She began volunteering and dog walking while still trying for a baby, and the decision to get a dog came naturally. She added that her friend Alison helped her to pick the right dog for her family – a female half cockapoo puppy called Sugar with a calm temperament. Katie's life was changed forever when she was attacked with acid aged just 24 back in 2008 her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008. Katie, who had been dating Daniel for just two weeks, was brutally raped by the steroid-fuelled martial arts expert in a hotel room when she tried to leave their relationship in March that year. He then obsessively stalked her before ordering then 19-year-old Stefan to throw sulphuric acid on her face, leaving her with severe burns and in need of 400 operations. Daniel received a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of rape, GBH and ABH at Wood Green Crown Court in 2009. His co-conspirator, Stefan, who threw the acid at Katie, admitted GBH and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years. He was released in 2018 but was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions. Police have since said they believe he has fled the country. Despite her traumatic experience, Katie regularly volunteers in women's prisons and believes in the power of rehabilitation. Locked Up In Louisiana, her latest TV show, follows her meeting women imprisoned or awaiting trial for murder. It follows her previous documentary, Jailhouse Mums, which explored motherhood behind bars. Katie noted that gun violence and violence against women are rampant, with many women facing 'shoot or be shot' situations.
Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Heartbroken Katie Piper, 41, makes devastating decision on third baby
Locked up in a Louisiana jail, Katie Piper realised she wanted to have a third baby before it was too late. The TV presenter was in America's Orleans Parish Prison with female killers to find out how they ended up there. It was in the jail, separated from her own daughters, Belle, 11, and Penelope, seven, that Katie decided the time was right. 'So many women missed their kids,' explains Katie. 'It started to make me think, 'This is my last chance to have another baby, I'm going to be 40. And if I don't do it now, I never will.'' Katie flew home and spoke to husband Richard Sutton. 'I was turning 40 in the October,' says Katie. 'So I said to my husband, 'If we want another baby, let's do it now,' and we started trying.' However, fate had other ideas. While they were trying to conceive, Katie underwent emergency operation on her left eye, which was blinded when a man she briefly dated had an accomplice throw acid at her in 2008. 'I had quite a traumatic event with my eye. I had to have a general anaesthetic and you can't be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries,' explains Katie. 'So that scuppered that and we had a break. We tried again, but it just didn't happen.' Katie considered undergoing IVF, but after having had hundreds of operations since the heinous attack, she couldn't face more hospital appointments and the potential heartache of it not working. Sadly, Katie abandoned her plan to have a third child. 'My eye surgery made me realise I don't want to do IVF,' she said. 'I'm done with medical things and hospitals. I didn't think it would be good for me.' However, Katie still felt something was missing, especially as her little girls had been so keen to have a third sibling. To distract herself from her heartache, Katie started volunteering at a canine rescue centre. It lead to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and it wasn't long before Alison Hammond was helping her choose a puppy to take home. The trips to Battersea were family days out with Katie determined to teach her children how to be responsible pet owners. 'We've had hamsters, we've had rabbits but it was me cleaning them out all the time,' says Katie. 'We started volunteering and dog walking while still trying for a baby, and it just came to a natural conclusion. So we got our dog from Battersea. There was a litter of eight dumped with the mum and I went to meet Alison. I handled them all and spent some time with Alison and she actually helped me pick the right dog for us – a female with a calm temperament.' They called the half cockapoo pup Sugar. 'It was like a proper democracy,' says Katie. 'You had to put the names you wanted in a box and we drew out each one and voted.' With Katie promoting Locked Up In Louisiana and the launch of her new book, Still Beautiful, looking after the puppy has fallen mainly to Richie. 'He's been sacrificing work to be at home, because it is like having a newborn baby,' says Katie. 'He's done very well toilet training her. 'We walked around like insane midlife crisis people with this dog in a baby sling. And the kids had a buggy with the puppy in it because she can't touch the floor outside until she's had all her jabs.' Now 41, Katie's upcoming book talks about ageing well and knowing your worth in a society that worships youth. Katie's looks were changed forever when she was attacked aged just 24. 'I experienced how society treats women who lose what they would deem their strongest currency: beauty and youth. I learnt that at 24, and when you turn 40 people are ready to devalue you once again. If life expectancy is our eighties, I'm just halfway through! 'What happens to women as they age, generally, is they become more financially secure, more stable, more independent, more established and usually more successful. So it's really weird to associate only negative connotations with ageing. I'm so grateful for being alive. Deborah James, Bowel Babe, would love to have gone past 40. It's insulting to devalue that.' Katie has created an enviable career, a beautiful home and a loving family unit in the 17 years since she was held captive for eight hours, raped and then attacked with acid leaving her facing years of ill health and surgery. In spite of the mental and physical scars inflicted by her attackers, Katie remains resilient and unbroken. Incredibly, she refuses to be afraid and as her own children become older and start to test their independence, she's determined that the brutality she endured will not cast a shadow over their lives. 'You can't avoid crime,' says Katie matter-of-factly. 'You're almost in victim-blaming territory if you think you can because you're almost saying, 'Only a certain type of person is on the receiving end of this, and I'm not, because I'm more careful.' Once you've been a victim of something like that, you go to therapy to find there is nothing you could have done. Of course you don't take unnecessary risks… you don't go jogging alone in the dark, just like you don't walk across a motorway. You're more likely to be in a car accident than you are to be attacked and raped.' Katie's kids have always known how she got her scars. When they started nursery they realised their mummy looked different and she's always been open with them about the attack, which the judge condemned as 'pure, calculated and deliberate evil'. 'I've always talked about what happened and how,' says Katie. 'Of course, it provokes a reaction from them; 'Does this happen all the time? Why did it happen?' Also young children don't understand adult relationships and they have natural questions like, 'Why did you date anyone other than Daddy?' So we have conversations that you might not have with your children. But we're a unique family.' 'I wouldn't want to frighten my children,' adds Katie. 'I wouldn't want to hide my 11-year-old away from the world so that she is incapable – and then is vulnerable and does get taken advantage of. I want to equip her with common sense, knowledge and logic. I think being streetwise is really important.' Katie's attackers were both given life sentences in 2009. Since then, Stefan Sylvestre, who threw the acid on the orders of rapist Daniel Lynch, has gone on the run while on licence. Despite her ordeal, Katie is a regular volunteer in women's prisons and believes the majority of prisoners can be rehabilitated. Her latest TV show Locked Up In Louisiana sees her meet women serving time or awaiting trial for murder. It comes after her previous series, Jailhouse Mums, which showed motherhood behind bars. 'Gun violence is rife and violence against women is rife,' says Katie. 'Many women were in the position of shoot or be shot, even though the law doesn't protect them from defending themselves.' Having been a volunteer in British jails for some years, Katie is skilled at gaining the confidence of inmates and many shared their stories with her. All too often the story was the same. 'They're carrying guns, they get assaulted and they shoot,' says Katie. 'And because there's no self-defence law, they are now in prison.' It's a complex subject and Katie understands there are two sides to every story, asking, 'If somebody shot your son or brother in what they say is self-defence, how would you feel?' After listening to the women and seeing their anguish over being separated from their children, Katie can't help but feel pity. It might seem that Katie has nothing in common with killers, but like them she knows that your whole life can change in one day. 'It is quite sobering knowing that none of us are really that far away from prison,' says Katie. 'It could be a bad day, a bad choice, a bad set of circumstances thrust upon us. For lots of women, if they hadn't committed their crime, they might be dead themselves.' Locked Up In Louisiana is available from Sunday 27 April. Watch at 9pm on U&W or stream free on U.
Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Katie Piper, 41, devastated over heartbreaking baby decision
Katie Piper was filming Locked Up In Louisiana when she realised she really wanted a third baby but things turned out very differently for the TV star Locked up in a Louisiana jail, Katie Piper had an epiphany – she wanted another baby. The TV presenter was spending a month with female killers in America's Orleans Parish Prison to find out how they ended up there. Away from her daughters, Belle, 11, and Penelope, seven, and listening to the prisoners who were missing seeing their own children grow up, Katie decided the time was right. 'So many women missed their kids,' explains Katie. 'It started to make me think, 'This is my last chance to have another baby, I'm going to be 40. And if I don't do it now, I never will.'' Katie flew home and spoke to husband Richard Sutton. 'I was turning 40 in the October,' says Katie. 'So I said to my husband, 'If we want another baby, let's do it now,' and we started trying.' However, while they were trying to conceive, Katie needed an emergency operation on her left eye, which was damaged when a man she briefly dated had an accomplice throw acid at her in 2008. 'I had quite a traumatic event with my eye. I had to have a general anaesthetic and you can't be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries,' explains Katie. 'So that scuppered that and we had a break. We tried again, but it just didn't happen.' Katie considered turning to IVF, but after having had more than 250 operations since the attack, she couldn't face more hospital appointments and the potential heartache of it not working. Reluctantly, Katie gave up her dream of a third child. 'My eye surgery made me realise I don't want to do IVF,' she said. 'I'm done with medical things and hospitals. I didn't think it would be good for me.' However, Katie still felt something was missing, especially as her daughters had been so keen to have a baby sibling. So Katie started volunteering at a dog rescue centre. That led her to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and it wasn't long before Alison Hammond was helping her choose a puppy to take home. The trips to Battersea were family occasions, with Katie determined to only get a dog if the whole family was on board. 'We've had hamsters, we've had rabbits but it was me cleaning them out all the time,' says Katie. 'We started volunteering and dog walking while still trying for a baby, and it just came to a natural conclusion. So we got our dog from Battersea. There was a litter of eight dumped with the mum and I went to meet Alison. I handled them all and spent some time with Alison and she actually helped me pick the right dog for us – a female with a calm temperament.' They called the half cockapoo pup Sugar. 'It was like a proper democracy,' says Katie. 'You had to put the names you wanted in a box and we drew out each one and voted.' With Katie promoting Locked Up In Louisiana and the launch of her new book, Still Beautiful, looking after the puppy has fallen mainly to Richie. 'He's been sacrificing work to be at home, because it is like having a newborn baby,' says Katie. 'He's done very well toilet training her. 'We walked around like insane midlife crisis people with this dog in a baby sling. And the kids had a buggy with the puppy in it because she can't touch the floor outside until she's had all her jabs.' Now 41, Katie's upcoming book talks about ageing well and knowing your worth in a society that worships youth. Katie's looks were changed forever when she was attacked aged just 24. 'I experienced how society treats women who lose what they would deem their strongest currency: beauty and youth. I learnt that at 24, and when you turn 40 people are ready to devalue you once again. If life expectancy is our eighties, I'm just halfway through! 'What happens to women as they age, generally, is they become more financially secure, more stable, more independent, more established and usually more successful. So it's really weird to associate only negative connotations with ageing. I'm so grateful for being alive. Deborah James, Bowel Babe, would love to have gone past 40. It's insulting to devalue that.' Katie has created an enviable career, a beautiful home and a loving family unit in the 17 years since she was held captive for eight hours, raped and then attacked with acid leaving her facing years of ill health and surgery. In spite of the mental and physical scars inflicted by her attackers, Katie remains resilient and unbroken. Incredibly, she refuses to be afraid and as her own children become older and start to test their independence, she's determined that the brutality she endured will not cast a shadow over their lives. 'You can't avoid crime,' says Katie matter-of-factly. 'You're almost in victim-blaming territory if you think you can because you're almost saying, 'Only a certain type of person is on the receiving end of this, and I'm not, because I'm more careful.' Once you've been a victim of something like that, you go to therapy to find there is nothing you could have done. Of course you don't take unnecessary risks… you don't go jogging alone in the dark, just like you don't walk across a motorway. You're more likely to be in a car accident than you are to be attacked and raped.' Katie's kids have always known how she got her scars. When they started nursery they realised their mummy looked different and she's always been open with them about the attack, which the judge condemned as 'pure, calculated and deliberate evil'. 'I've always talked about what happened and how,' says Katie. 'Of course, it provokes a reaction from them; 'Does this happen all the time? Why did it happen?' Also young children don't understand adult relationships and they have natural questions like, 'Why did you date anyone other than Daddy?' So we have conversations that you might not have with your children. But we're a unique family.' 'I wouldn't want to frighten my children,' adds Katie. 'I wouldn't want to hide my 11-year-old away from the world so that she is incapable – and then is vulnerable and does get taken advantage of. I want to equip her with common sense, knowledge and logic. I think being streetwise is really important.' Katie's attackers were both given life sentences in 2009. Since then, Stefan Sylvestre, who threw the acid on the orders of rapist Daniel Lynch, has gone on the run while on licence. Despite her ordeal, Katie is a regular volunteer in women's prisons and believes the majority of prisoners can be rehabilitated. Her latest TV show Locked Up In Louisiana sees her meet women serving time or awaiting trial for murder. It comes after her previous series, Jailhouse Mums, which showed motherhood behind bars. 'Gun violence is rife and violence against women is rife,' says Katie. 'Many women were in the position of shoot or be shot, even though the law doesn't protect them from defending themselves.' Having been a volunteer in British jails for some years, Katie is skilled at gaining the confidence of inmates and many shared their stories with her. All too often the story was the same. 'They're carrying guns, they get assaulted and they shoot,' says Katie. 'And because there's no self-defence law, they are now in prison.' It's a complex subject and Katie understands there are two sides to every story, asking, 'If somebody shot your son or brother in what they say is self-defence, how would you feel?' After listening to the women and seeing their anguish over being separated from their children, Katie can't help but feel pity. It might seem that Katie has nothing in common with killers, but like them she knows that your whole life can change in one day. 'It is quite sobering knowing that none of us are really that far away from prison,' says Katie. 'It could be a bad day, a bad choice, a bad set of circumstances thrust upon us. For lots of women, if they hadn't committed their crime, they might be dead themselves.'
Scottish Sun
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Loose Women's Katie Piper reveals she considered killing evil ex-boyfriend after acid attack in new prison documentary
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOOSE Women star Katie Piper has revealed she considered murdering her ex-boyfriend and attacker after he raped, stabbed and arranged an acid attack on her. The TV presenter was left with life-threatening injuries after the horrifying string of violent attacks in 2008, which saw David Lynch order a friend to throw sulphuric acid at her face. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 Katie has admitted she considered killing her ex after the attack Credit: Splash 3 Katie travels to Louisiana in her new UKTV documentary series about prison Credit: U&W Katie has long been open about her fears of Lynch, 48, wanting to harm or even attempt to kill her again on his release, but she's now admitted she's also had to work through thoughts of killing Lynch. Sitting down with a female inmate in her new series Locked Up In Louisiana, who was put behind bars for murdering her husband in what she claims was self-defence against long term domestic violence, Katie admitted: 'I was beaten and raped, and then a couple of days later I had acid thrown in my face. "I had that moment where I felt like he was beating me, he was going to kill me. 'I always thought if someone was going to kill me, I would defend myself, but what happened was I froze out of fear and I didn't do anything to him and a couple of days later, somebody threw the acid at me. 'I spent a lot of time in hospital, it was very different from prison, but I spent a lot of time isolated and in bed thinking that I should've killed him.' The former model has undergone hundreds of surgeries to repair her face and eyesight following the attack, which took place when she was 24 years old. This year, she underwent a procedure to give her an 'artificial eye' to protect her damaged left eye. Katie's criminal ex, who organised an acid attack on her, could face release in the coming weeks after he was granted a parole hearing next month to discuss moving him to an open prison. Lynch, 48, was put behind bars for life with a minimum sentence of 16 years in 2009 for instructing Stefan Sylvestre to throw sulphuric acid at Katie days after raping and stabbing her in a hotel room. Lynch will appear before the parole board on June 3 and 4 to ask to be moved to a facility with greater freedom, which is a step closer to his release, which is currently due in two years. Katie Piper shares emotional health update after eye surgery as she says she's finally 'reached the end of the road' Katie travels to New Orleans for her new series on U&W, in which the Loose Women panellist sits down with female inmates accused of murder to discuss what pushes people to commit violent crimes. Among them is Tonica Williams, 45, who was charged with second degree murder for killing her husband, and is facing a mandatory life sentence for a crime she claims was self-defence. In the series, she reveals the relationship between her and her late ex-husband had long been abusive, having even 'sent him to jail' on domestic violence charges before the altercation that killed him. Reflecting on Tonica's decision to kill her husband, Katie added: 'I'd never experienced trauma or abuse until I was attacked, but that's not the case for these women behind bars. 'Tonica first saw somebody shot and a dead body at the age of six, and I can't comprehend what that must have been like and what that does to you. 'Lots of the women in this film were in a situation of kill or be killed, obviously that isn't a path that I took but maybe if my childhood had been different, who knows?' Katie Piper: Locked Up In Louisiana airs on U&W from April 27.
