Evil cowbag

A mum of six was yesterday found guilty of beating her sister-in-law and keeping her hostage as a slave.Antonia Pearson-Gaballonie, 35, faces a “lengthy jail sentence” after a two-year reign of terror against Veronica Sandeman.

Sadistic Pearson-Gaballonie, forced her to work wearing only a pair of shoes, burnt her clothes and attacked her with a belt, rolling-pin and scissors, and starved her. The “skeletal” Veronica escaped only days after her tormentor hacked off her hair and stabbed her in the face with the scissors on Christmas Day.

Veronica, 26, became isolated from her parents after Pearson-Gaballonie told her that they did not want her — and had made the defendant her legal guardian. Her sister-in-law held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her, screaming: “No one would care if you were dead.”

The case echoes the ordeal suffered by Natascha Kampusch, who was held for eight years in an underground room in Austria. Veronica ran away from Dundee at the age of 14. Three years later she went to live in York with her brother Steven, who was dating Pearson-Gaballonie.

When the couple married she acted as an unpaid nanny to their children. The couple split in 2002 but Veronica stayed. She started having to beg for food and doing chores as Pearson-Gaballonie stayed in bed. The beatings began on New Year’s Eve 2002 and a pattern of “domestic slavery” began.

When Pearson-Gaballonie heard a call from Veronica’s dad, she smashed her phone and hit her in the face. She was beaten three times a week and starved for three weeks at a time. But things got worse as Pearson-Gaballonie married garage manager and nightclub doorman Neil Pearson in 2004.

In November Pearson-Gaballonie lost her temper and burned Veronica’s clothes, making her a prisoner. She had to clean the home naked in front of her tormentor, her husband and children.

She escaped three days after Christmas Day 2004, when she found some of Pearson’s old clothes and ran away.

A jury at York Crown Court unanimously convicted Pearson-Gaballonie of false imprisonment, making threats to kill and six counts of assault yesterday. Pearson was found guilty of aiding and abetting her. She was refused bail by Judge Paul Hoffman, who told her to expect a long jail term.

They will be sentenced in November. Pearson-Gaballonie is also being probed for fraud after claiming £10,000 disability benefit in Veronica’s name.