Attack Changes Life of Beautician
A beautician has recounted how a single punch from an MMA fighter during a night out altered her life permanently.
Anne Marie Boyle was rendered unconscious after rejecting Sean McInnes' advances at a pub in September 2024.
The mother of two, who described herself as "lucky to be alive," sustained a broken eye socket and cheekbone.
In addition to physical injuries, the assault caused a brain injury and subsequent seizures, which resulted in her losing her business, her driving privileges, and her self-confidence.
McInnes, who had participated in a major Muay Thai competition, was sentenced to 21 months in prison in March.
Incident Details
Anne Marie, a beauty and complementary therapist with a successful business, was at a pub in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, accompanied by her cousins on the night of the incident.
She told BBC Scotland News that it was not a venue she usually frequented, but they had attended to see a psychic show.
The 38-year-old described how a quiet evening unexpectedly turned into a traumatic event.
"My daughter had football the next day, so I knew I was driving and I wasn't actually drinking a lot that night,"
Anne Marie said a young man repeatedly approached their table and persistently ignored her refusals.
"This boy kept approaching the table. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. He just wouldn't leave us alone."
She stated that she had never met him before.
"Looking back now there were certainly warning signs - ignoring boundaries.
Someone asked me, do you think he just didn't understand no?
He did understand no - it just wasn't the answer that he wanted."
When the pub closed, Anne Marie and her friends attempted to leave and walk home.
She said to McInnes, "Please, just go the other way."
Despite this, he continued to harass them.
"Verbal aggression, just shouting, screaming in our faces, towering over us, wouldn't let us go by.
Looking back it was only going to go two ways - he was getting his own way, or that was going to happen. So it just escalated."
Anne Marie described how McInnes pushed her cousin so forcefully that she was screaming.
Moments later, he punched Anne Marie in the face.
"I was knocked unconscious.
Immediately after that he knocked another boy unconscious."
At the time, they were unaware that McInnes was a trained MMA fighter.
Anne Marie said,
"I've never felt pain like that.
I think he knew precisely where to hit me."
She experienced severe pain in her face and teeth and later learned from a maxillofacial surgeon that the punch had displaced her vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve connects the brain to various organs, including the heart, lungs, and digestive tract.
"I remember a police officer coming up to and saying to me, are you ok?
The officer said I was bleeding from the back of my head."
Medical Consequences
Anne Marie was hospitalized for three weeks and subsequently diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where the brain ceases to send signals to the body.
She now experiences involuntary tremors and chronic pain.
The incident has profoundly affected her life.
Unable to work, she lost her business, and her driving license was revoked due to safety concerns.
"My life is completely different.
I can't go out on my own. My anxiety is so bad and I don't know what people's intentions are now."
Anne Marie noted that her mental health symptoms sometimes surpass the severity of her physical ones.
She also described the court process and seeing McInnes again as "horrendous."
McInnes maintained his innocence until the trial day when he admitted to the assault.
Anne Marie expressed disappointment over the length of his sentence.
"He will get out and he will go back to his family and his children,"
"He'll be able to drive, go back to his job.
And I can't work because I could drop at any time."
Advocacy and Awareness
Anne Marie now seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers posed by individuals like McInnes.
She aims to make the world safer for women, including her two daughters aged 14 and 28.
"I've got two children that need me and I've got a lot of people that love me around about me.
That love that has what has got me through this.
I'm telling this story because I don't want this to happen to anyone else that might not have the support system, that might not be strong, that might not have the strength."
