What euthanasia engineer said when he saw himself in the mirror after being ‘attacked with acid by ex’
Mark Van Dongen, 29, was left blinded, paralysed from the neck down after ex Berlinah Wallace, 48, allegedly hurled sulphuric acid in his face after a row
AN ENGINEER disfigured in an acid attack begged doctors to kill him after seeing his melted face - and went on to take his life in a euthanasia clinic.
Mark Van Dongen, 29, was left blinded, paralysed from the neck down after ex Berlinah Wallace, 48, allegedly hurled sulphuric acid in his face after a row.
She is accused of throwing causing such serious injures - including a leg amputation - that he chose to die in Belgium 15 months later.
Bristol Crown Court heard how the Dutch-born engineer cried "kill me now, if this is what I am going to look like, I don't want to live" after seeing himself in a mirror at Southmead Hospital.
Adam Vaitilingam QC, prosecuting, told the jury: "We will invite you to take the view that Mark Van Dongen had euthanasia because of what Berlinah Wallace had done to him,"
"The doctors diagnosed that he was at the limits of tolerable pain.
He told officers he had been asleep in bed when Wallace woke him up and said: "If I can't have you, no-one can" before throwing the acid.
Analysis of her laptop revealed an Amazon purchase record for sulphuric acid on September 2, 2015, as well as later web searches such as "What happens when you swallow sulphuric acid" and "Can I die from drinking sulphuric acid."
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There was also a record of sulphuric acid-related court stories online.
Wallace, of Ladysmith Road, Westbury Park, Bristol, denies charges of murder and throwing a corrosive substance with intent.
The trial continues.
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