Jailed thug's copycat attack on Simone

Victim says evil Stokes researched ex's brutal assault | She tells of acid ordeal... and relief at 11-year sentence

- PAUL HEALY

A VICTIM of a horror acid attack says her attacker copied a previous incident in which she was also beaten and scalded with boiling water.

Evil Christopher Stokes, 39, was yesterday jailed for 11-and-a-half years for the brutal assault of his former friend Simone Lee.

During the May 2021 attack he placed a bin-liner over her head, beat her and doused her with boiling water and acid before setting her flat on fire.

Brave Simone, 43, revealed she was previously attacked by her ex Colin Ryan in 2016 and that Stokes told her he had repeatedly researched that incident on Google.

She said: "I'd made the mistake because I said to him that I'm so blessed to be alive because I ended up in an induced coma and I had to learn to walk again and talk again from the attack in 2016.

"I said to him, I'm back on my own two feet, I have my own little place now and I'm so lucky to be alive. And then a few times he then said to me, I googled it and I know all about it'.

"People have said to me since, if you look at the other attack and now this, it's like a complete copycat."

In 2018 Simone's ex-boyfriend Ryan was jailed for nine-and-a-half years with two suspended after he pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to her on November 27, 2016.

The court heard she suffered severe burns to her face, neck, trunk and eyelids in the attack.

SCALDED

Ryan also stabbed her in the back, left her with a brain injury and scalded her with boiling water.