A mother-of-three has been jailed for 14 years for beating up a "Sugar Daddy" pensioner with a Canals of England picture and torturing him with a hot iron. Gordon Bland, 79, offered Samantha Butler, 40, cash to "help her out a bit" after meeting her in his local pub, the Royal Albert, on July 9 last year.
When they got back to his flat in Crystal Palace, south-east London, she immediately hit him over the back of the head and vowed to kill him, he said. She went on to batter him with a picture frame, throttle him with an electrical cable and branded him with his own iron at least three times during the hour-long assault which was only brought to a halt when a neighbour called police.
Mr Bland, a porter, suffered numerous injuries, including bleeding on the brain, and spent the next five weeks in hospital. Butler, of St Aubyns Road, Upper Norwood, south London, admitted causing Mr Bland's wounds but denied trying to kill him and claimed the iron must have fallen on him.
She claimed she passed out in the living room and woke up to find herself in only her pants and bra with an undressed Mr Bland on the sofa. A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for less than an hour to find Butler not guilty of attempted murder but guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Reading from Mr Bland's victim impact statement, prosecutor Ian McLoughlan said the victim was left in "extreme pain and discomfort" and was still unable to use his left hand as a result of the attack.
He had been unable to carry on his work as a porter at a block of flats on the Thames, a job he had loved. He described himself as a sociable person whose activities had been curtailed, making him feel trapped in his own home. He was unable to prepare and enjoy food, struggling to carry out simple tasks like chopping onions.
