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The parents of a young woman who was paralyzed after being kidnapped by her boyfriend said they had no idea she was being abused.
Angel Lynn was only 19 when Chay Bowskill, then 20, pushed her into a van, from which she fell and suffered brain damage that left her unable to walk or speak.
Doctors said Angel, now 21, will not survive but has made a “miraculous” recovery, can now communicate and even took her first steps since the tragedy in September 2020.
Despite her parents being thrilled, they said the impact had “destroyed” their family and they want to warn others to look out for the signs early.
Dad Patrick, 53, said he and Nikki, 48, “had no idea” that their daughter was being controlled by Bowskill.
Nikki told ITV Good Morning Britain on Thursday: “It takes a lot of publicity for people to understand the signs.
“I wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone else.” Our whole family was completely devastated by this – it changed our whole lives. It changed our lives; changed his family’s life.
She said the new Channel 4 documentary, The Kidnap of Angel Lynn, was solely intended to “raise awareness and tell other people to look out for these signs”.
The documentary shows Nikki asking Angel if she wants to tell her story to prevent similar situations from happening again, and Angel typing “Yes” on her iPad.
On Tuesday’s show, viewers were shown abusive lines from Bowskill calling Angel a “stupid c***”, a “b****” and a “sneaky little beetle”.
Nikki said: “He was texting all the time. Message, message, message – all the time her phone was on. Wherever he went, she went with him.
“At that age, you can’t say, ‘You can’t do that. She had her own car, you can’t ground her. I felt helpless.
The devoted mother of six previously said: “Angel loved her life. Then it just changed. She stopped going to college. She didn’t see her friends or spend time with her brothers and sisters. She was always with him.
“We’re just completely devastated that we didn’t notice. Because we wouldn’t be here today if we had noticed it sooner.
“It can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter how strong you are. It can happen to men and women.
“We had to do it because that’s how we tell other people about being coerced and how easy it is, even if you have a strong will, that it can happen to you and just walk away from it because I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through it .
“I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else.” Our whole family was devastated.
Bowskill, of Empingham Drive in Syston, Leicestershire, was convicted of kidnapping, coercion and control of conduct and perversion of justice.
At the trial, it was heard that he served a prison term for burglary during his relationship with Angel. While he was behind bars, he demanded that she be home at 6 p.m. each day so he could call her on her landline.
She eventually made the decision to leave Bowskill after he threw her against the wall and was getting her life back on track before an altercation occurred that led to her kidnapping.
Bowskill was initially sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, but last March the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 12 years.
Angel’s parents from Loughborough also told Good Morning Britain about how much better their daughter is doing now.
Nikki recalled how the doctors initially told her: “Miracles happen, but with Angel it won’t happen.”
Patrick added: “They said she wouldn’t make it through the night, we prayed for her and she’s doing really well.”
The couple are currently preparing their home so that Angel can move in with them and develop further.
They hope everything will be ready to welcome their daughter home before Christmas.
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