In this powerful episode, we highlight the landmark UK case of Alex Skeel, a 21-year-old father from Bedfordshire who endured nine months of horrific abuse from his girlfriend Jordan Worth—the first woman convicted of coercive control. Meeting as teenagers in 2012, their relationship produced two daughters but descended into isolation, starvation, and brutal violence: Worth stabbed Alex with knives (severing tendons), hammered his skull, scalded him with boiling water (causing severe burns), and withheld food until he lost 56 kilograms, leaving him ten days from death.
Rescued by police in June 2017 after neighbours heard screams, Alex's emaciated, scarred body shocked the medics. Worth pleaded guilty in 2018 to GBH and coercive control, receiving a 7.5-year sentence (released in 2022). We delve into her manipulative tactics of isolation, including fake death hoaxes and social media hijacking, and examine the ongoing trauma: permanent scars, therapy, and Alex's fight against male victim stigma as a ManKind Initiative ambassador. Discover how Worth's cruelty exemplifies the Dark Tetrad—Machiavellian manipulation, narcissistic control, psychopathic indifference, and sadistic pleasure—in a story that reshaped the understanding of abuse.
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Reference List
Daily Mail Online. (2019, February 18). Abused by my girlfriend: Alex Skeel reveals injuries from Jordan Worth. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6716559/Abused-girlfriend-Alex-Skeel-reveals-injuries-Jordan-Worth.html
BBC News. (2018, April 17). Alex Skeel: Domestic abuse survivor was 'days from death'. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-43799850
Daily Mail Online. (2023, April 20). Evil girlfriend who starved and stabbed partner is engaged to new man after serving prison sentence. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11996031/Evil-girlfriend-starved-stabbed-partner-engaged-new-man-serving-prison-sentence.html
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The Independent. (2018, April 18). '10 days from death': Male domestic abuse survivor describes horrific ordeal as former girlfriend is jailed. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jordan-worth-domestic-abuse-alex-skeel-days-from-death-luton-crown-court-bedfordshire-a8309921.html
Stephensons Solicitors LLP. (n.d.). First UK Conviction For Coercive Behaviour For A Female Offender. Retrieved from https://www.stephensons.co.uk/site/blog/family-law-blog/first-uk-conviction-for-coercive-behaviour-for-female-offender
1 in 3 Podcast. (2023, April 5). 6-Domestic Violence SURVIVOR: Alex Skeel. Retrieved from https://www.1in3podcast.com/6-domestic-violence-survivor-alex-skeel/
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The Mirror. (2019, February 22). How abusive Jordan Worth still had 'control' over Alex Skeel even AFTER arrest. Retrieved from https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-abusive-jordan-worth-still-14037324
Reddit r/TrueCrimeDiscussion. (2024, January 29). *In 2016, 21-year-old Alex Skeel was brutally tortured, controlled, stabbed and abused by his girlfriend*. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimeDiscussion/comments/1ae3388/in_2016_21yearold_alex_skeel_was_brutally/
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