Brave six-year-old girl saves mum from ‘satanic’ abuse by telling teacher ‘Daddy’s hurting Mummy’
During Scott Keegans' reign of terror Jodie wasn't allowed to work, have a mobile phone or see her friends and family
A BRAVE six-year-old girl unwittingly saved her mum from “satanic” domestic abuse after telling a teacher at school: “My Daddy is hurting my Mummy”.
Jodie Keegans, 36, was subject to three years of possessive behaviour and domestic abuse by her controlling husband Scott Keegans before he was jailed for 18 years last month.
The alarm was finally raised when Jodie's "superhero" daughter, who had been told to report bullying, admitted her teacher what was going on in October 2017.
After seeing her mum suffer what was later described in court as one of the most “satanic” cases a judge had seen, she told shocked staff: “My daddy’s naughty.
“Daddy’s hurting mummy by the birdy wallpaper. She says that she loves him but he carries on hurting her.”
During Keegans' reign of terror, Jodie, who met her future tormentor in a nightclub in 2005, wasn't allowed to work, have a mobile phone or see her friends and family.
The mum-of-three even had to miss the funeral of her own sister - who died unexpectedly in 2015 from undiagnosed cancer.
She suffered daily beatings that left her with broken ribs and shoulders and bruises over 95 per cent of her body.
Despite having been together 10 years, in 2015 Keegans' controlling behaviour escalated and Jodie began being regularly bitten, punched and stamped on, leaving her with broken bones and fractures.
In one particularly vicious attack, Keegans almost ripped off Jodie's ear but refused to let her go to the hospital, which meant the frightened mum was forced to glue it back together with semi-permanent eyelash glue.
Jodie said maintenance man Keegans daily beatings could come out of nowhere, with reasons for his anger including his coffee not being made properly and her being able to sleep when he couldn't.
It would take one last brutal and life-threatening attack on the mum before the 34-year-old thug was finally arrested.
In December 22, 2017, Jodie suffered a "week from hell" culminating in Keegans beating her for two hours with a rolling pin, leaving 95 per cent of her body covered in bruises.
Jodie said: “He swung his right arm back and beat me with it.
“He punched me, bit me and stamped on me. He ripped my hair as he told me he hated me. I honestly thought I was going to die, I was so scared and it hurt so much.
“His whole face changed, it was like he was the Joker from Batman. He beat me so badly, even on the soles of my feet, so I couldn’t walk.
“It only stopped when he was tired and he told me to go to bed.
"At 9am the next morning, he told me to get up and go into the kitchen where he started to beat me again.”
The mum of three only escaped after police, who had been involved with the family since their daughter spoke out, arrived at her door two days before Christmas.
They had come to the property as Keegans had missed an appointment with social services days earlier.
Jodie said: “As soon as I saw them I knew this might be my only chance.
“I did something I’d never done before, showing the two police officers my injuries and simply said, ‘I think I’m a victim of domestic abuse’.
“The female officer said, ‘Yes, you are. I’ve never seen anything like this’.
“I guess that was the first time I had actually admitted what was happening.”
However, Keegans had fled the property but was arrested later the same day.
Describing her ordeal, she said: “I thought ‘this is the day I’m going to die’. It was two hours of beating with a large rolling pin.
“I felt so ill and that’s when my organs started packing up."
After Keegans, 34, was finally arrested and the family were safe, Jodie was taken to Doncaster hospital for the first time since the physical abuse started.
A full body scan following her hospital admission revealed the full extent of her horrific injuries, including a broken shoulder and multiple old and new rib and spinal fractures.
She was also covered in bite marks and had clumps of her hair pulled out.
The doctors also told her she was at risk of lung and organ failure.
She said: "When I got to hospital, staff thought I’d been in a car crash and they were in tears. I said ‘no this is my husband who did this’.”
The young mum was kept in hospital for five days over Christmas, but she claims: "It was the best Christmas I have ever had."
Jodie, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, credits her brave daughter for helping them all escape the abuse.
She said: "My daughter is my superhero for being brave enough to tell her school what was happening, which is when support services first became involved.
"She really did save my life."
Jodie, who believed on several occasions Keegans would actually kill her, explained their 13-year relationship hadn't always been so violent.
The couple married in October 2009 on Halloween and celebrated with a horror-themed wedding.
Jodie said: "It started off really good, he was a great partner and father in the beginning but about three years ago, his possessive behaviour started to escalate.
"He didn't want me to engage with anyone and would always question the kids, asking 'who did mummy speak to today'.
"He used to tell me I was lazy and tell the kids 'mummy is useless.'
"I actually used to love horror films that's why we had a Halloween wedding, but after actually living in one I don't think I'll ever be able to watch one again."
On September 5 2018, Jodie watched as Keegans was found guilty by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court of six counts of assault, sexual assault by penetration and rape.
Jodie said: "It was definitely a nerve-racking experience facing him in court but it was the closure I needed to move on with my life.
"For him to get such a lengthy sentence was the best possible result."
With Keegans behind bars, Jodie has begun rebuilding her life and is now dedicating her time to helping other victims of domestic abuse.
She has even set up her own support group in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
Jodie said: "I want to empower women, and men, to come forward.
"To anyone who has been a victim of domestic abuse, the help is there and it's amazing, you just need to take that first step and reach out.
"You just don't talk about it, you keep it silent, you keep it a secret, but there needs to be a spotlight shone on it to increase awareness."
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