Every third day, in our #EveryThreeDays campaign, I write about a woman killed by a man. Previously in this campaign, which started on the 2nd of May 2021, we have remembered 47 women, the last being Petra Atkinson, 42, who died in hospital after she was stabbed in the neck at their home in Heather Avenue, Withernsea, a small seaside resort in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Today, we remember Ann-Marie Cropper, 47, a grandmother who lived with her partner Ian Gordon in Southport.
Gordon had an extensive criminal history and had constantly abused Anne-Marie, threatening her, saying he would kill her and potentially other family members if she dared to leave him.
Sadly, in September 2015, six years ago, an argument broke out, leaving Ann-Marie with over one hundred injuries. Despite the number of injuries, Gordon concocted a story claiming that Anne-Marie slipped in the shower, and it was not until halfway through his trial that he admitted the truth, changing his plea to “guilty”.
The Liverpool Echo reported this:
Mr Power (prosecuting counsel) said paramedics attended the couple’s flat in Royal Terrace at 4.45 am when Gordon gave a “lying” account that Ms Cropper had fallen. A neighbour called Phillip Minshull, who called an ambulance and performed CPR, later told police Gordon said to him, “you’ll back me up, that she slipped in the shower”.
Ms Cropper’s family saw her with black eyes, bruises to her body and bite marks to her ears after the couple started seeing each other last summer. Her eldest daughter took her to hospital on September 4, where she recounted a “history of violence” to a doctor, including Gordon cutting her hand with a knife. Despite the report, nothing was done.
Ms Cropper told her middle daughter Gordon flushed her phone down the toilet so she couldn’t seek help. She also said he “stabbed her to the arms and legs with a fork” – leaving the cutlery embedded in her flesh.
Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, said Gordon repeatedly assaulted and threatened to disfigure and kill Ms Cropper in the months before her death. He said: “You caused her untold physical and mental suffering as a result of your ever-increasing violence, culminating in a sustained and ferocious attack. Threats of further violence compounded your campaign of violence towards her. You threatened to kill her, which was bad enough but also displayed an element of warped sadism and sheer cruelty.”
Ian Gordon was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence of twenty years. Ann-Marie, lost her life because she failed to act despite being abused on an ongoing basis. If you are being abused please seek help by contacting a local domestic abuse charity as a matter of urgency. Every three days I write a story similar to that of Ann-Marie. I don’t want to write about you.
NOTE: This remembrance has been updated at the family’s wishes.
Ann-Marie Cropper
#EveryThreeDays
Authored By Steph @PlaceSteph
