Domestic abuse survivor reveals how Siri saved her life in brutal attack
A domestic abuse victim has revealed that her life was saved by her iPhone's Siri technology during a 'relentless attack'.
Joining presenters Ed Balls and Kate Garraway on ITV show Good Morning Britain last week (September 11), mum-of-one Emma-Louise Kelly recounted the time her phone alerted the police while her ex-partner was physically assaulting her after a night out.
On how things dramatically spiralled that night, she began by sharing: "We went out for a date night and everything was absolutely fine.
"He went home to take the car and we went to meet some friends for some drinks, and when he came back from that he was just different.
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"He was getting possessive and jealous about other people that were saying 'happy new year', he wasn't happy with any of it."
'It was horrific'
In hindsight, Emma-Louise was aware of several 'red flags' when it came to her partner's worsening treatment of her.
"[He was] jealous about things that he wanted me to wear and things like that, but on the night when he changed I decided to go home separately from him," she explained.
"I walked in and he just started to attack me verbally and then it became violent. He was punching me, kicking me, strangling me until I passed out. Sexual assault followed after that and it was horrific."
Kate replied by asking if she thought this was the moment she'd die.
'All I could think about was my little girl'
"Yeah, I knew that I needed help," answered the GMB guest.
"I didn't know how I was gonna get that help because it was just relentless and I kept passing out, and all I could think about was my little girl and making sure that I was OK for her.
"So I shouted to my phone - I use it a lot when I'm busy, when I'm cooking - and luckily it connected and [the police] literally came and saved my life."
It took around 20 minutes for officers to arrive at the property, where the perpetrator remained.
'It was sheer desperation'
Apparently, Emma-Louise had no idea whether her cry for technological help would actually register.
"It all happened really quickly," she said.
"I was shouting to Alexa and to my phone, I didn't know if it would work. I know that I use it to call my contacts and people, but I didn't know if it would work - it was sheer desperation.
"If I didn't know it was gonna work, he probably thought it's not gonna work, but he smashed up all the Alexas just in case. But obviously my phone - when I did find it, it was somewhere in the corner in the room, so it connected from wherever I'd shouted."
Emma-Louise's partner ended up pleading guilty following the attack and was subsequently sentenced to nine years and four months at Preston Crown Court last month (August 14). His sentence is made up of a six-year, four-month sentence behind bars followed by three years on licence.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.
Topics: Technology, Crime, Good Morning Britain
Dan Seddon