Face of Devon monster who made women fear for their lives

One of them missed out on their dream job

A Jekyll and Hyde Paignton man subjected two women to a violent and terrifying attack after suddenly exploding into violence. Tattoo artist Marcus Hill "seemed really nice" before a switch turned him into a dangerous thug, a court heard.

His violence left one woman unconscious with multiple broken bones and her friend covered in blood with a broken nose. The pair feared for their lives as Hill made a phone call saying he needed a car and cable ties to throw them into the sea.

Hill appeared at Exeter Crown Court to be sentenced for GBH and ABH, committed at his flat in Torquay Road in July of last year. The 37-year-old has multiple previous offences for violence and was locked up for three years and nine months.

Prosecutor Felicity Payne said police attended the flat at 1:35am after multiple 999 calls. They found Hill and two badly injured women.

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One of the women was lying unconscious and another bleeding heavily, asking police for help. Hill showed officers a knife and said the two women had attacked him.

"The prosecution say this was a random, unprovoked attack on two women that continued even when one of the woman was unconscious and during which he struck her multiple times to the face and body," said Ms Payne.

She said the women had met Hill and his friend at the Wetherspoon pub in Paignton that evening. They were celebrating one of the women getting her dream job as a cabin flight attendant. The women had not met Hill previously.

The pair had initially refused Hill's offer to buy them a drink but by the end of the evening Hill and his friend had sat at their table and they chatted in a friendly way.

All four went back to Hill's flat to socialise, said Ms Payne, before the defendant's friend left. Hill's mood seemed to change after one of the women mentioned that he might know her brother. He began accusing the women of being undercover police and saying he had ties to the military.

He punched one woman in the face. She fell to the floor groaning but he carried on punching and landing a kick. The other woman begged him to stop but he picked up a knife and held it to her neck while ranting about her brother.

He punched the second woman in the face and she slumped against a wall. Hill told the women he could not let them go. He made a phone call and asked a person for cable ties, saying he "needed to get rid" of the women and wanted a car so he could "chuck them in the sea".

The woman who was still conscious said she contemplated jumping out of the window but did not want to leave her friend. She believed she was going to be killed but managed to call 999 in secret. Police traced the mostly silent call and arrived a short time later. Neighbours also heard the noise and threats and called 999.

Both victims said in statements the violence had a profound effect on their lives. They were both traumatised.

The woman who was knocked unconscious said her life was going well at the time but the incident had led to her losing work and missing out on her dream job.

"I will never be the same outgoing person I once was," she said. She suffered a broken collarbone, broken nose and five broken ribs.

The second victim sustained a broken nose and other injuries. "We both got attacked for no reason," she said. "If anything, Marcus seemed quite a nice man. It was like a switch that turned within seconds."

Hill has 62 previous crimes to his name, many for violence. Philippa Harper, defending, said he has complex mental health issues and a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

He thought the two women were about to steal from him. He now realises he could have dealt with the situation in a better way and is sorry. He is now "keen to put the whole thing behind him", having already spent more than a year in custody waiting for his sentence.

Hill interrupted proceedings at court several times. Saying in response to some of the evidence "That's a load of b******s" and "It's a war zone out there". At one stage the hearing was adjourned and he was taken out of the dock to calm down.

Judge Evans said he had to take account of the defendant's mental state at the time which made it harder for him to control his temper. He said the defendant had a history of substance misuse.

He said: "I have no doubt whatsoever you are dangerous but have no previous qualifying conviction so I am not able to impose an extended sentence. This is, yet again, another case which points up the glaring absence to deal with someone who is dangerous in these sorts of circumstances."

Hill was given retraining orders not to contact either women for five years.