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Acid murder trial: Accused tried to take overdose Acid murder trial: Accused in 'prostitution secret' threat
(35 minutes later)
A woman accused of throwing acid over her former partner tried to take an overdose when she learned he was seeing another woman, a court has heard. A woman accused of throwing acid over her former partner threatened to tell his new girlfriend he had worked as a prostitute, a court has heard.
Berlinah Wallace, 49, denies murder and applying a corrosive fluid to Mark van Dongen, 29, in Bristol in 2015.Berlinah Wallace, 49, denies murder and applying a corrosive fluid to Mark van Dongen, 29, in Bristol in 2015.
He ended his life in a Belgian euthanasia clinic 15 months later.He ended his life in a Belgian euthanasia clinic 15 months later.
Ms Wallace told Bristol Crown Court Mr van Dongen dialled 999 after she put antiviral medication in her mouth, but the pills were too big to swallow. Ms Wallace told Bristol Crown Court she had threatened to reveal his past because she was worried about how she would pay for her flat if he left.
She said she tried to take the tablets, used to control her HIV, when Mr van Dongen returned unexpectedly to pack his things. She said Mr van Dongen told her he became a prostitute in the Netherlands, aged 15, after being kicked out of home.
The court heard Mr van Dongen had been violent and racist towards Ms Wallace during their five-year relationship. She told the court: "I was saying, if he doesn't help me I'm going to tell about him."
She told the court they met on a dating website for people with HIV. He had visited her in Bristol from the Netherlands and after the second visit "he never left". The court heard Mr van Dongen had been racist and violent during their five-year relationship.
Ms Wallace said they met on a dating website for people with HIV and, after his second visit to Bristol from the Netherlands, "he never left".
Jurors heard, on one occasion, Mr van Dongen was arrested on suspicion of assault after he kicked Ms Wallace in the back and hit her in the head.Jurors heard, on one occasion, Mr van Dongen was arrested on suspicion of assault after he kicked Ms Wallace in the back and hit her in the head.
She said in another incident, while the couple were living in the Netherlands, he pulled her out of the shower and pushed her naked into the street. She said, in another incident, while they were living in the Netherlands, he pulled her out of the shower and pushed her naked into the street.
The court heard she had previously attempted to take her own life and had depression and anxiety. Suicide attempt
Earlier in the trial Ms Wallace told the court she had thought the corrosive fluid she threw at Mr van Dongen was water. The court heard she had attempted to take her own life and had depression and anxiety.
She told the court the fluid was given to her by Mr van Dongen, which he had handed to her in a cup in a bid to kill her. Ms Wallace, originally from South Africa, said she tried to take an overdose in August 2015 when Mr van Dongen returned to pack his things after he began seeing another woman.
She said he dialled 999 but she was unable to swallow the pills - used to control her HIV - because they were too big.
Earlier in the trial, Ms Wallace told the court she had mistakenly thought the corrosive fluid she threw at Mr van Dongen was water which he had handed to her in a cup in a bid to kill her.
Mr van Dongen was left paralysed from the neck down and lost his left leg, ear and eye following the attack in September 2015.Mr van Dongen was left paralysed from the neck down and lost his left leg, ear and eye following the attack in September 2015.
The trial continues.The trial continues.