A model has told a court how she was pinned down, punched and repeatedly bitten by her abusive ex-boyfriend who warned her ‘I will f*** you up’.
Ricky Lawrence, a whisky merchant aged 33, is currently facing trial for allegedly assaulting Chloe Othen, 34, at his apartment in Knightsbridge on 15 October 2022. Othen had been invited over by Lawrence via text.
But later Lawrence sent messages to Ms Othen saying: ‘I will do everything in my power to f*** you up.’
The pair had been in a relationship for around six months between December 2021 and May 2022 but remained ‘on and off’ after it ended.
Ms Othen, a finalist in Miss Universe GB in 2015, is a model and internet personality with 284,000 Instagram followers.
Upon her arrival at Lawrence’s £1.5 million apartment in Hans Place, a conversation ensued between the two, culminating in an alleged attack by Lawrence on Othen. Othen states that she was subjected to regular assaults by Lawrence, including an incident where he reportedly punched her in the face while she was pregnant.
During the incident, Othen’s partner, Bora Guccuk, a 41-year-old jeweller from Hatton Garden, called her. Lawrence answered the phone and allegedly made threats to stab both Othen and Guccuk. In a moment of distress, Othen called out to Guccuk for assistance.
Prosecutor Sheilagh Davies said her relationship with Lawrence was ‘clearly an open relationship. When they had broken up she had resumed her old relationship with Mr Guccuk.’
Chloe Othen, 34, told a court her ex-partner assaulted her at his home in 2022 by punching, strangling and biting her
Whisky merchant Ricky Lawrence, 33, is accused of the assault after inviting Ms Othen over, a court has heard
Ms Othen went to Lawrence’s apartment in Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge ‘on his invitation.’
‘While she was there an argument broke out between them and he assaulted her,’ said the prosecutor.
‘He assaulted her on her right leg just above her knee, on her left leg on her thigh just below her hip, on her right arm just above her elbow, and on her right shoulder.’
She suffered multiple bruises to her legs, arm and shoulder after she was punched around 30 times, the court heard.Â
Ms Davies continued: ‘She was aware that Ricky was sometimes unstable. He was someone who reacted badly when he doesn’t get his own way.
‘On 14 October there had been some loose arrangement that she would go to his flat, but for some reason she was late, and didn’t get there until about 5am in the morning when, the prosecution say, all hell broke loose.’
Mr Guccuk noticed that she was not at home, so he called her mobile, and Lawrence answered, the court heard.
‘He threatened to stab Chloe and Bora. He threatened that he would assault them and threatened all sorts of things.
‘That made Bora concerned not only for his own safety but for Chloe’s as well’, said Ms Davies. ‘Bora could hear Chloe screaming ‘help me, help me’.’
Mr Guccuk contacted police and Ms Othen managed to escape to the Berkeley Hotel to meet her friend, Alexandra Ivanovic.
Lawrence allegedly sent a number of abusive messages to Chloe just before the alleged assault.
The pair had been in a relationship for around six months between December 2021 and May 2022 but remained ‘on and off’ after it ended
Following his arrest Lawrence told police he had ‘repeatedly asked Chloe to leave but she continued to shout and scream’
He told her: ‘I’ll do everything in my power to f*** you up. You’re a lying little w***e, you said you were coming to me an hour-and-a-half ago.’
Ms Othen went to A&E on October 16 where it was found one of the bite marks on her neck had ‘turned septic’.
Following his arrest, her ex-partner Lawrence told police he had ‘repeatedly asked Chloe to leave but she continued to shout and scream.’
He denied assaulting Ms Othen and said: ‘I did not hold her unlawfully in my flat against her will. She has attacked me in the past. I have had to call police.’
The prosecutor said that the injuries were clearly not self-inflicted.
Giving evidence Ms Othen described their relationship as ‘narcissistic’ adding: ‘You are addicted to the highs and lows. It is euphoric.’
She said Lawrence beat her up and pinned her down, adding: ‘I genuinely thought I’m going to die.’
She added that the attack left her with six bite marks and as a result she needed a ‘tetanus shot and antibiotics.’
Ms Othen confirmed that she fell pregnant by Lawrence but she had an abortion.
She described her on-off boyfriend as ‘crazy’ and said he even pursued her while she was at the Cannes film festival and at the Greek island of Mykonos with her friends.
Giving evidence from behind a screen Ms Othen was asked by the prosecutor how Lawrence reacts ‘when things weren’t going his way?’
She replied: ‘Crazy. He was abusive. Physically and verbally abusive. He begged for me back. He cried, he screamed. He shook me when I was in Mykonos.
Ms Othen confirmed that she fell pregnant by Lawrence but she had an abortion
Ms Othen said she initially had not wanted to go to his flat because she was scared
‘When you are in a narcissistic relationship it’s very hard to get out of. They tell you they are obsessed with you, that they love you… You just feel special.’
‘I didn’t understand it completely until I saw a therapist about it.’
She said that when he started sending her abusive messages on the night of the alleged assault she tried to not allow them to affect her.
‘I tried to just have a method where I don’t let it affect me. I’ll just stay calm, be like whatever. I asked him if he was drunk. He said he was sober.’
She said she initially had not wanted to go to his flat because she was scared.
‘I was genuinely scared to go there. It is not the first time it had happened. He had spat at me, kicked me. But never on the level that happened in October. I never foresaw that.
‘I delayed because I thought maybe he would get bored, maybe he would go to sleep.
‘When I got to his flat I walked in and sat down and spoke to him. I saw the look in his eyes and I saw they were black.
‘I genuinely thought I was going to die. I genuinely on my life thought that. He stole my phone. He grabbed me, put me in a bear hug and then just punched me and thumped me.’
She said that her phone then rang and Lawrence answered.Â
‘It was ringing, ringing. When he answered it he had already started beating me up.’
‘I screamed please call the police Ricky’s going to kill me. He punched me numerous times, kicked me, strangled me.’
She said that she went to a window and tried to catch the attention of a member of the public.
‘I signalled to a passerby to come and help me.’
She told the court that one of the bites on her neck had become septic and that she had seen a private doctor.
‘I had to have antibiotics for that. I had to consult a private doctor.’
She insisted that it had been Lawrence and no one else who had caused her her injuries.
‘The only person who did those injuries to me was Ricky Lawrence. When I arrived at the hotel my friend saw me battered and bruised completely. There is no way that in seven minutes anyone else could have done that to me. The only person who did those injuries to me was Ricky Lawrence.’
Ms Othen claimed Lawrence was regularly violent to her and had ‘bust’ her nose when she was pregnant.
‘I was embarrassed going back to someone who beat me, that’s the God’s honest truth.’
Describing the alleged assault at Lawrence’s apartment she added: ‘He locked me in his house, beat the s–t out of me and tried to kill me. I was a stupid idiot for going there.
‘I was stupid to keep going back to someone who abused me.’
Lawrence, of Knightsbridge, denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The trial continues.
