My ex stole £200k from me & left me fearing for my life in horror attack – he's in prison but I'm still terrified of him

A DIVORCED mum-of-two was left penniless after her coercive ex stole more than £200,000 from her.

Sue Smith's drug-addled former partner Lee Longdon regularly swiped cash from her purse to fuel his habit, before launching a merciless attack on her to get more.

He subjected her to a horrific four-hour ordeal in which he removed her clothes, held his hand over her nose and mouth, and beat her until he could withdrew £500 from an ATM using her card.

Longdon, 42, was jailed for defrauding and assaulting the 44-year-old, but she is still so terrified of him she lives every day in fear.

Sue said: "I still have nightmares and struggle to sleep. 

"Even though I know he’s in prison I’m still terrified I’ll see him, and I am absolutely destitute."

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Before meeting window-fitter Longdon, Sue had been living a "very comfortable" lifestyle financially – taking lavish holidays to pool-side villas in Cyprus, driving a Mercedes, carrying a £1,000 Mulberry bag and wearing a flashy Rolex watch.

But just months into their three-year relationship, she found herself living with a crack-cocaine addict who repeatedly robbed her.

The pair met in November 2017 after Sue's then five-year-old daughter accidently sent him a message on Snapchat.

Things moved quickly, and before Sue knew it Longdon had moved into her home.

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She said: "The first time we met Lee told me that he was usually confident around women – but there was something different about me.

"I know now that what he said was a total line, but I was gullible."

At the time, Longdon claimed to be in-between jobs and struggling for money, which Sue said she later realised was the first major red flag.

"The first signs of abuse were financial," she said.

"I offered to lend him money for petrol and he said he was too proud. 

"But within ten minutes he had said, ‘well actually, that would help me out'," taking around £30 from Sue’s purse, and promising to pay her back.

She said from then on he would ask for cash daily.

The mum-of-two had ended a 17-year marriage the year before, during which she and her ex-husband built up a successful property business – at one point worth millions – when the couple cashed out just before the 2008 crash.

EVIL EX

In April 2018, Sue was preparing to put the mortgage-free £500,000 home she had shared with her former partner on the market.

She asked Longdon to do some work around the house for £200-per-day, and "he actually never left".

Sue said: "He came on the Monday, stayed the night on the sofa and that was it.

"He came to me in private and said my little daughter had asked him, ‘will you stay for a sleepover tonight? I like it when you’re here and I’m scared when you’re not'.

"I never thought to doubt that, but I now wonder if he guided her to say those comments. 

"When I look back at the patterns of abuse, it all seems so cliché."

Longdon was living full-time at Sue's family home when she realised he was using cocaine recreationally while drinking.

Although she admits she knew it was wrong, other people she knew used it too so she let it slide.

"What you see on telly, a drug addict doesn’t go out all dressed up for a few drinks with the boys and then come in and eat a pizza do they?," she said.

"But afterwards he’d disappear off to the toilet for ages. I was so green I had no idea what was going on. 

"Now that I know more about it I realise how easy it was for him to disappear off and do a few lines."

It sounds stupid but at that point I believed we were in love and it was going to stop.

Longdon would also manipulate Sue and try to make her feel insecure, she said.

On one occasion he got dressed up to meet an ex-girlfriend, showing Sue pictures of the much-younger woman and bragging.

"I just thought, well, he’s allowed to have female friends – I think on some level I knew he wanted a reaction out of me, but he wasn’t getting one," Sue said. 

She explained that after her divorce, and with her family on her case, she wanted to prove she was capable of making decisions "on my own".

She had been with her ex-husband since she was a teenager, and was desperate for some independence, so even though warning signs were there she happily ignored them.

But as the drug use became more reckless, Sue said she could feel herself "spiralling out of control".

"I noticed that he was taking cocaine, but then it turned out he was smoking crack," Sue said. 

"It sounds stupid but at that point I believed we were in love and it was going to stop."

Longdon's drug use worsened, as did the abuse that came with it, and Sue's daughters went to live with other family members.

And by June, as the drug-induced paranoia took over their lives, Longdon was "pushing" Sue around if she refused to lend him money.

'PETRIFIED'

"I had to go to the toilet with the door open because he was terrified I would sneak off and text another man," she said.

"I wasn’t allowed my phone, or he would download tracking apps so he always knew where I was.

"He told me if I ever tried to leave he would sit happily in a police cell for the rest of his days knowing I was dead. 

"I’ve got a plate in my neck from a car crash in 2002 and he would always try to strangle me or push my head around. 

"I was petrified because I knew it could paralyse me."

Their relationship worsened still, with periods of breaking up and getting back to together, and they frequently moved from place to place – even once shacking up in shared accommodation as the money dwindled.

Sue claims at one point Longdon plugged £90,000 from the sale of a house into drugs in the space of just a few months.

Her fed-up family gave her an ultimatum – stay with Longdon or stop speaking to her parents and sister.

Sue chose to stay with her ex and the family remains estranged.

Then one night in August 2020, after a drugs binge, Longdon cornered Sue and demanded cash. 

She told him she had "finally had enough" and the relationship was over and refused to hand him her bank card.

How you can get help

Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:

• Always keep your phone nearby.
• Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
• If you are in danger, call 999.
• Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
• Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
• If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
• Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.

If you are a ­victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support ­service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].

Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.

You can also call the freephone 24-hour ­National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.

What followed was a gruelling four-hour ordeal during which Longdon beat Sue, removing her clothes and underwear and insisting she had hidden the card.

He then placed a towel in her mouth, put his hand over it and pinched her nose until she lost consciousness.

"Luckily I came round – but he was still in the same position – although had loosened his grip," she said.

"At this point I truly feared for my life, I was petrified."

Terrified, Sue relented and Longdon dragged her to a cash machine where he withdrew £500 and left her crumpled on the tarmac.

The harrowing attack was caught on CCTV, with the black and white footage showing Sue slowly buckling under Longdon's fists as he pummels her with punches before legging it with her card.

The video meant Sue cooperated with police as she knew there was taped evidence of her ex-boyfriend's temper – and it was imperative in convicting him.

Before then, she had been too terrified to press charges, despite repeated calls from friends and even a welfare check from her local force.

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On March 29, 2022, Longdon was found guilty of assault occasioning ABH and fraud by false representation and ordered to serve two years and ten months in prison. 

Despite Longdon being firmly behind bars, Sue – who is now in a new relationship – still struggles with PTSD and has not been able to financially recover from the relationship.

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