Mother-of-two, 29, who feared her Army sniper ex was going to kill her painted his name on her wall in blood to help police catch him
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Emmie Dalton, 29, was attacked by her ex-boyfriend Jonathan Hunt, 34
Published: 10:03, 5 January 2024 | Updated: 10:09, 5 January 2024
A mother-of-two who feared her Army sniper ex was going to kill her painted his name on her wall in blood to help police catch him.
Emmie Dalton, 29, locked herself in her bedroom and managed to spell out ‘JOHN’ before crazed Jonathan Hunt, 34, broke down the door.
Ms Dalton, from Sheffield, escaped the house and Hunt was arrested the next day. He was convicted of ABH and jailed for two years and 11 months.
The mother, a Master’s student, said: ‘Johnny’s brutal attack left me scarred for life and I’ll need corrective surgery on my nose in the future. But I’m a survivor and finally rid of him.’
The couple matched on Tinder[2] in January 2020 and went on their first date on Valentine’s Day.
They got on well and Ms Dalton discovered Hunt used to be a sniper in the Army.
Emmie Dalton, 29, (pictured) wrote her’s ex’s name on the wall in blood to help police find him as she thought he was going to kill her
She locked herself in her bedroom and managed to spell out ‘JOHN’ before crazed Jonathan Hunt broke down the door
Ms Dalton (left) and Jonathan Hunt, 34, (right) matched on Tinder in January 2020 and went on their first date on Valentine’s Day
When COVID-19 hit, he moved in with her and her two young children.
But when Ms Dalton began studying an English literature degree, Hunt complained she wasn’t paying him enough attention.
‘Lockdown took it’s toll and soon we were arguing all the time,’ she said.
Hunt became secretive with his phone in January 2021, and one day when Ms Dalton guessed his Facebook password, she discovered dozens of messages from other women.
She said: ‘When I confronted him he insisted he was only flirting and blamed it on being lonely, because of all the studying I was doing.
‘I tried to forgive him but the trust was broken.’
In October 2021 the couple split and Hunt moved out with the pair promising to stay friends.
The following year, in July 2022, Ms Dalton’s mother looked after her children while she threw her friend a 50th birthday party at her house – inviting Hunt.
She said: ‘Johnny was charming and on his best behaviour, but after everyone left and I started clearing up, he squared up to me in the kitchen, demanding to know how much I’d had to drink.
‘His eyes glazed over when I told him I’d only had a few.’
Suddenly, Hunt punched Ms Dalton hard in the face and continued to rain down blows on her face.
When he hit her in the nose she heard a squelching sound.
Hunt punched Ms Dalton hard in the face and continued to rain down blows on her face after a party
When COVID-19 hit, Hunt moved in with Ms Dalton and her two young children
Hunt used to be a sniper in the Army before he met Ms Dalton on Tinder
The pair are seen together during happier times when they were in a relationship
Ms Dalton said: ‘A metallic taste filled my nostrils and I was drenched in blood.
‘Terrified he’d kill me, I ducked under his arm and raced upstairs into my bedroom, locking the door behind me.’
As she heard Hunt thunder up the stairs, she had a horrifying thought.
She said: ‘I thought he’d kill me and get away with it.’
Determined not to let him escape justice, Ms Dalton covered her index finger in blood from her face and scrawled on the wall.
As she wrote ‘JOHN’, Hunt burst into the room.
Ms Dalton managed to escape down the stairs out into the street.
Hunt caught up with her and shoved her, face first into the pavement.
She blacked out and when she came around, Hunt had vanished.
Ms Dalton said: ‘I managed to drag myself home and phone a friend, who took me back to hers.
‘I was in too much pain to call the police and just went to bed.’
The next morning Ms Dalton went home with her friend and found Hunt asleep in her bed. The police were called and Hunt was arrested.
Ms Dalton attended Chesterfield Royal Hospital where she was treated for severe bruising and a dislocated nose
The consultant warned Ms Dalton could have lost her left eye
Ms Dalton and Hunt are pictured outdoors together during happier times
Ms Dalton studied for a Master’s degree in English Literature
Determined not to let him escape justice, Ms Dalton covered her index finger in blood from her face and scrawled on the wall
In August last year Hunt was jailed for two years and 11 months at Derby Crown Court
Later that morning Ms Dalton attended Chesterfield Royal Hospital where she was treated for severe bruising and a dislocated nose. The consultant warned she could’ve lost her left eye.
Back at home, she tried to scrub the walls of her blood but the stain wouldn’t budge.
She said: ‘It was a sick reminder of what he’d done.’
In February 2023 Jonathan Hunt admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
In August last year he was jailed for two years and 11 months at Derby Crown Court.
The judge detailed his previous convictions for 28 offences, including convictions that arose from ‘domestic context’.
Ms Dalton said: ‘His sentence was appalling for what he did to me.
He could’ve killed me.
‘Now there’s still blood on my wall, so I’ve swapped rooms.
‘But it’s a reminder that I didn’t let that animal get the last word.’