Nurse's jealous partner put tracker on her car, said she'd killed Covid patients and ripped skin off her back

Nurse's jealous partner put tracker on her car, said she'd killed Covid patients and ripped skin off her back EXCLUSIVE: Sally Vickery-Aldred endured a life of hell at the hands of her controlling partner Mark Illsey - but she eventually got justice and saw him jailed at Preston Crown Court A nurse has described how her ex-partner drenched her with cold water and dragged her outside by her hair after accusing her of cheating. Controlling Mark Illsey fitted a tracker on Sally Vickery-Aldred’s car, confiscated her phone, and kept her up all night to interrogate her. In a jealous attack on Valentine’s Day, he ripped her dress and threw a bucket of cold water over her. In a second incident, he flipped her out of bed, dragged her outside and kicked her as she lay on the ground. He also accused Sally – a devoted ICU nurse – of ‘murdering’ Covid patients in her care. Last month, Ilsley, 42, was jailed for two years and 10 months at Preston Crown Court after admitting controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. Sally, 37, from Lancashire, says: “Mark reduced me to a shell of the person I once was and I was living in fear. Once, after a full night’s interrogation, I left the house at 4am and waited outside until it was time to go to work. I just couldn’t bear it any longer. “I feel so relieved that he’s behind bars and I’m slowly rebuilding my life, running, hiking, being with friends and feeling free.” Sally met Illsley three years ago through mutual friends. By May 2024, she was single, and the pair began a relationship. She said: “We were friends at first, and Mark was very supportive when my relationship ended. He was kind and caring, he’d make my meals and run me baths. He bought me lovely gifts including a Dyson hairdryer. I’d no car at the time and he lent me his. He treated me like a princess.” But cracks showed when Mark wrongly accused her of texting another man. Sally said: “There was no truth in it. I calmed him down and he told me he’d been cheated on in the past. I just thought he was insecure and he needed support.” But Ilsley quickly became controlling, checking and screenshotting Sally’s messages and banning her from social media. She said: “He was obsessed with me cheating. He’d keep me up all night with questions, I wasn’t allowed to sleep, yet I was working the next morning. Once, at 4am, I fled the house and waited until it was time to start my shift at work. I couldn’t take any more.” On Valentine’s Day 2025, after a romantic night out, Ilsley again became jealous, ripping Sally’s dress, kicking her out of bed and pinning her against the wall. He then drenched her with a bucket of cold water. She said: “I went back to stay with my parents, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone what was going on. I was losing my confidence; I didn’t have the strength to stand up to Mark and I always ending up going back to him. “He’d regularly lock me out, so I couldn’t access my work uniform or check on my cats. He slowly alienated me from my friends and family, until I was completely reliant on him.” Ilsley also targeted Sally’s weight and her career. Sally said: “He was a conspiracy theorist and accused me of murdering Covid patients. I was very proud of my work in ICU during Covid, it was a harrowing time, and for him to question that made me question myself. I started to wonder who I really was. “I broke my ankle playing netball and put on a bit of weight because I couldn’t exercise. I gained less than a stone, but Mark said I was fat. I started to believe it and developed eating issues. I couldn’t enjoy my meals, I was permanently anxious, living on eggshells, worried about what he might do next.” Through an app on Mark’s phone, Sally discovered he had placed a tracker on her car. She said: “When I confronted him, he said I’d forced him to do it with my cheating. He always blamed me for his behaviour, and I began to believe I was at fault.” In May 2025, Sally was invited on a Bank Holiday spa trip with her girlfriends. She said: “I had to get permission from Mark, and I was so afraid of him that I couldn’t ask. When he found my swimming costume in the washing machine he erupted, accusing me of seeing other men. He kept me up all night interrogating me. He was taking the TV apart accusing me of bugging the room.” Later, Illsley flipped Sally out of bed, dragged her outside and kicked her repeatedly. He threw her belongings at her as she fled. She said: “He had ripped the skin off my back, and I was covered in bruises and abrasions. When I went to my mum’s, she saw my injuries and called the police. It was a relief that, at last, it was out of my hands.” Illsley appeared before Preston Crown Court on May 21 and admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. He was jailed for two years and 10 months and handed a £228 fine and a 10 year restraining order. Sally says: “For weeks after the final attack, I couldn’t shower or wear a bra. Even now, I have scarring across my back. But the internal damage is the worst. I have dreadful nightmares and flashbacks and for months, I lived on my nerves. I was diagnosed with PTSD and needed regular counselling. I had safety apps on my phone and safeguarding tools both at home and at work. “Since the sentencing, I’m feeling stronger. I see my friends, I’ve started running and hiking again and I’m raising money for Refuge and other charities who have supported me. “I’m speaking out to make people aware. Mark Illsley is a risk to other women, and I want people to know what he is capable of. If you are trapped in an abusive relationship, please speak up. The help is out there, and your healing can begin.” Sally is fundraising for the charity that supported her. You can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/team/saljanclaire?utm_medium=TE&utm_source=WA