EMERGING from the darkness with “black and soulless” eyes, Josh Dunn vowed to kill the terrified mother of his girlfriend as he forced her to the ground and began stamping on her face.
Crying out in pain, brave Stacey Holmes, 46, was convinced she was going to die, having long feared this day after a mysterious tip-off from a stranger revealed the truth about her cowardly attacker.
The mum, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, had been deeply concerned for her daughter Hannah Hurst, 20, after witnessing many “red flags” and angry outbursts since she began dating Dunn, 26.
Despite her concerns, and begging her daughter to leave the brute, nothing could have prepared Stacey for the moment she discovered the domestic abuse had escalated into a savage attack.
Rushing to her daughter’s side in April 2025, Stacey intervened, but Dunn turned his aggression towards her, punching and stomping on her body.
Dunn was later imprisoned for 20 months for assaulting his girlfriend and mother-in-law.
Stacey is now speaking out exclusively to The Sun to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to warn other parents of the signs to look out for.
She says: “I watched my daughter change when she was with Josh. I knew he’d hurt her one day.
“Then, that night, my worst nightmare came true, and she rang me crying for help.
“I came to rescue her and Josh turned on me. But I’d do it all over again to save my girl.
“Now, I’m relieved my daughter’s safe from him. We’re both healing.
“But I want to speak out to encourage mums to spot those red flags in your daughters.”
Single mum-of-one Stacey has always lived with alone with her daughter.
She says: “I didn’t have many friends, and neither did Hannah. We found a best friend in each other.
“She was my soulmate. Since she was 13 months old, I’d been a single mum.
“We spent every second together. Fun weekends, nights out, and yearly inclusive resort holidays.
“When Hannah was 17, she was diagnosed with autism. It made me more protective.”
Twisted truth
In 2023 Hannah began a career, aged 18, as a support worker for the disabled.
Stacey says: “Weeks after her new job, Hannah got her first boyfriend.
“She said his name was Josh Dunn. They’d met on Facebook. She seemed smitten.
“But I instantly recognised the surname ‘Dunn.’ I was certain he’d had a violent background. But not sure if I was correct, I didn’t say anything.”
Just days into dating, Hannah moved in with Dunn and his family. Only a month later, a young girl, similar age to Hannah, messaged Stacey on Facebook out of the blue.
At the time I was training to be an undertaker, and at work, I would unzip the bodies and I’d imagine one day seeing my daughter on the slab
Stacey Holmes
Stacey says: “This girl sent me links to dozens of online Cumbria newspaper articles for beating his ex-girlfriend.
“He was 24, but the abuse went back to when he was 19. I felt sick to my stomach.
“I wanted to confront Hannah but I was worried I’d push her away.
“But the next month, I couldn’t hold it in. Hannah explained he’d already shown her and it wasn’t as bad as the papers made out.
“He’d promised her how much he’d changed and that he’d never do it again. Hannah was so casual.
“Somehow Josh had convinced her the online news had been exaggerated.
“I was filled with dread. I knew he’d hurt her one day.”
Red flags
A week later, Hannah brought Dunn, who was unemployed, home to meet her mum.
Stacey says: “He told me he’d been to jail for fighting offences and seemed proud about it. I was lost for words.
“I immediately took a disliking to him. Hannah had fallen madly in love but I was worried sick.”
As months passed, Hannah began to show red flags, just like Stacey had dreaded.
Stacey claims her daughter became absent, always staying at Dunn’s house, and if she answered the phone, she’d hide in the toilet.
Stacey says: “She became a shell of her former self. Quiet and distant.
“It was clear Josh already had his claws into her. I checked in constantly but she shut me out. Hannah was blinded by love.
“Her being autistic made me feel Josh was taking advantage of her even more.
“I knew Josh was keeping her from me. I grew so worried that at one point I even went to the police station and I begged them to help me.
“But they told me there was nothing they could do unless he put her in danger. I was furious they had to wait for Josh to hurt my daughter to step in. It was disgusting.”
‘Like the Devil’
Desperate for her daughter back, Stacey took the extraordinary step of inviting Hannah and Dunn to live with her in February 2025 after they’d been together for a year.
Stacey says: “Most mums would think I was crackers. But this way, she’d be closer and safer.
“Right away, I heard Josh screaming at her in their bedroom. He called her a ‘fat ugly t**t.’ I was terrified of him too.
“I began to secretly record him, in case I needed it as evidence against him one day.
“I wanted nothing more than to get him away from my girl. But I was petrified of Hannah leaving with him, and cutting me off. As a mum, I felt completely trapped.
“One night after Josh had been screaming abuse at Hannah, I secretly pleaded with her to leave him.
“She wouldn’t listen. At the time I was training to be an undertaker, and at work, I would unzip the bodies and I’d imagine one day seeing my daughter on the slab.
“I was distraught. But Josh felt like a ticking time bomb.”
My evil ex destroyed me
Hannah Hurst, now 20, says: “Josh sucked me in with love and affection. But his mask fell off six to eight weeks in.
“The night that ended it all, I was driving when Josh bit my face and choked me while I was at the wheel. Sticking his finger in my eye, telling me he was going to kill me.
“I thought I would die. When I cried to Mum on the phone I didn’t want her to come until it was safe.
“I didn’t want her to get hurt too. I stood in court and was brave as I could be.
“But the justice system failed me and my mum. There’s not enough justice for people.
“He could be out in eight months on good behaviour.
“We’re going to move house to stay safe. I still live in fear and am medicated as he destroyed me as a person.
“I have PTSD, I’m on medication for anxiety, and I don’t go anywhere on my own now. It’s been life-changing.”
Hannah has since campaigned for a stronger domestic violence register and launched a petition.
She adds: “I’m thankful to my mum, its brought us closer together. She’s my best friend.”
Sign Hannah’s petition here: https://www.change.org/p/create-a-domestic-violence-register-for-perpetrators-to-have-to-sign-onto
In April 2025, Stacey was watching TV at home when her daughter called her in distress.
She says: “She screamed ‘Mam, he’s hurt me!’ My heart sank. It had finally happened. She was at his nana’s, who’d called the police.
“I told her I was coming, leapt off the sofa and jumped into the car in my PJs.
“Six minutes later, I pulled up outside Josh’s nan’s. I got out the car into the dark.
“I was screaming for Hannah. Suddenly, Josh appeared in the darkness.
“He said he was going to kill me. He dragged me onto the ground by my head and neck.
“I was horrified. There nothing behind his eyes. Just black and soulless, like the devil.
“He got me against a pebble-dash wall. Josh said he was going to kill my daughter. With all my might, I flipped him over and straddled him.
“I’d never had a fight or thrown a punch in my life. But he overpowered me and I got pushed down again.
“I felt his fist slam into my forehead. Then his foot into my face, down to my ribs and abdomen, all the way down to my ankles.
“Crying out in pain, I tried to protect my head and stomach. But he kept stomping. I thought I would die.”
Unbeknown to Stacey, Hannah was watching from the upstairs bedroom window in horror.
Six police vans pulled up, and pulled Dunn off his girlfriend’s mother. As Dunn was arrested, he screamed threats to Stacey.
Stacey, who now works as a retail assistant manager, says: “My relief wasn’t just for me, it was for Hannah.
“Josh was going mental, yelling that he’d petrol bomb my house and slit me and Hannah’s throats. That he’d snap our jaws and murder us.
“The police helped me inside and I saw Hannah. She was black and blue, with blood all over her face and her eye.
“We both burst out sobbing, hugging each other. Hannah was in bits, telling me how Josh was inebriated when she went to collect him from a family member’s house.
“Hannah had noticed bumps on Josh’s head and tried to drive him to hospital.
“But as she was driving, Josh strangled her from behind the driver’s seat, bit her face, and eye-gouged her.
“If the police had responded quicker, it would’ve saved me getting hurt too. But nothing would ever make me regret trying to protect her.”
No remorse
In August 2025, Dunn appeared via video-link at Carlisle Crown Court. Stacey and her daughter claim he didn’t show an ounce of remorse.
That week, Josh Dunn, 26, of Beckgreen, Egremont, in Cumbria, pleaded guilty to two counts of actual bodily harm assault and intentional strangulation.
He was also convicted of racially aggravated criminal damage and threatening to damage property in an unrelated offence. They were shocked as he was only sentenced to 20 months.
He was also given a five-year restraining order against Stacey and Hannah.
Stacey says: “We were failed by the system. Josh deserved a much longer prison sentence.
“Although the police installed a fireproof letterbox, CCTV and new locks, nothing felt enough.
“But weirdly, everything made Hannah and I closer. We had matching tattoos recently and have another summer holiday booked.
“We’re both not victims, we’re survivors. I hope our story can urge mums and daughters to be wary of these red flags, and please leave domestic abuse or you could lose your life.”
Domestic abuse – how to get help
DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone – including men – and does not always involve physical violence.
Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
- Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to
- Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you
- Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten.
- Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent.
If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers:
Remember, you are not alone.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.
