Ruth Kanton - The Disappearance of Lynsey Quy

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LYNSEY QUY

RUTH KANTON

Lynsey Quy

Born and raised in Southport, United Kingdom, Lynsey Wilson was the youngest daughter in a family of six siblings. Linda Wilson, Lynseys mother, described Lynsey as a shy girl who was always content to stay in the background. She was soft-spoken and was never really outgoing. Linda Wilson, Lynseys mother, described Lynsey as a shy girl who was always content to stay in the background. She was soft-spoken and was never really one to talk much. In January 1995, Lynsey had been in her first serious relationship for a few months when she found out she was pregnant. Her father, Peter Wilson, took the news in stride, mainly because Lynsey had immediately accepted the news. According to Peter, Lynsey never even considered any other option except keeping her baby and taking care of him/her. Her boyfriend, looking to do the right thing, proposed. Lynsey was excited, but after a few months, she had second thoughts about getting married to the father of her unborn child. She figured that it would be a mistake to go through with the wedding, so she called it off. 17 years old, single, and pregnant, Lynsey had accepted that she would remain a single mother for quite a while. She then began planning life on her own, as well as trying to figure out ways to support her child when she gave birth later in the year.

Mitchell Quy

When Lynsey was 5 months pregnant, she met 20-year-old croupier Mitchell Quy. The circumstance of their meeting is still shrouded in mystery, but Mitchell stated that he was initially attracted to Lynseys smile. After their first meeting, Mitchell said, they were always together. By this time, Lynseys family was not that close, although she did have her parents taking care of her sometimes. Just a few weeks after meeting Mitchell, Lynsey shocked her family when she stated that she and Mitchell were engaged, and that they were looking to get married as soon as they could. The wedding took place five weeks after they met, on August 1, 1995, which to many of her friends and family, was a big red flag. The wedding guests were predominantly Lynseys friends and family. The only guest from Mitchells side was his younger brother, Elliot Quy. As her parents watched Lynsey relating with Quy on their wedding, Peter wondered what his daughter saw in the man. Their conversations were barely the happy banter a newlywed couple normally had, and later in the night, the two had a raging argument which Lynseys parents witnessed.

After their wedding, the couple moved into a flat located on Boundary Street. Lynsey became less involved with her family, but with the already existing rift, no one really found it alarming. In her own home, however, Mitchell was slowly becoming less of an ideal husband by the day. Their whirlwind romance was turning into a nightmare for Lynsey, but she was still holding out hope. Mitchell was distant and mean, and was prone to lashing out at her for even the tiniest of mistakes. Her daughter, Robin, was born in October, and instead of settling in into her new life with ease, Lynsey was constantly on alert, unable to predict what Mitchell would do next. The marriage began crumbling, and Mitchells abuse escalated from emotional and psychological abuse to physical abuse. They had just been married for a few months, but Lynsey was scared of Mitchells anger and how he always seemed to find some reason to beat her up. Looking for support, Lynsey decided to confide in her sister, Paula Houghton.

He beats me, Paula recalled Lynseys statement. The family had only met Mitchell a couple of time, and they knew him as a charming young man. Unable to connect the charming Mitchell with Lynseys account of events, Paula didnt have much to say. She asked Lynsey to give the marriage a chance, especially since they had only been together a short period of time. Janette Harwood, Lynseys friend and neighbor on Boundary Street, was aware of how brutal Mitchell could be. The arguments in the Quy apartment were particularly loud and frequent, and it was common to hear things breaking inside the home. Neighbors kept their distance, especially since Lynsey always seemed to forgive Mitchell soon after the violence had subsided. However, as the months went by, Lynsey began confiding in friends that she wanted Mitchell out of their home, but she had no clue how she would make it happen.

Separations

A year after Robin was born, Lynsey discovered that she was pregnant once again. Her relationship with Mitchell had become increasingly tumultuous, and she believed that her marriage as it was would not make a great environment to raise another baby in. By this time, she was completely out of touch with her family, and they had no clue about the vicious fights or the new pregnancy. Having made up her mind, Lynsey made an appointment and got an abortion. Mitchell did not take the news well. Furious that Lynsey chose to get rid of his baby, Mitchell packed up and left the couples home, leaving Lynsey alone with the baby through Christmas of 1996. As Lynsey focused on raising Robin, Mitchells infidelities ran rampant. During the separation, Lynsey began building a relationship with her mother, and even told her that she had begun dreading walking into any store in the town. According to Lynsey, she could barely go anywhere without running into some woman Mitchell had slept with.

In April 1997, five months after Mitchell walked out of their home, Lynsey finally let him back into her life. According to Mitchell, Lynsey was itching to have a baby, so they immediately started trying, and Lynsey fell pregnant quickly. However, it didnt take long for Mitchells violence to rear its ugly head again. He was still angry at Lynsey for aborting his baby months earlier, and he took every opportunity to use it against her. The fights became even more frequent than before, sparking concern among Lynseys friends. Harwood recalled one incident that occurred when Lynsey was four months pregnant with her second child. Harwood, after hearing another one of Mitchells fight with Lynsey, looked out her window. She saw Lynsey running barefoot down the street, clutching Robin in her arms. The fight went on for a couple more minutes, and when it died down, neighbors came out of their houses to find out what had happened. Outside the flat Lynsey and Mitchell rented, there were blood smears on the window sills, exterior walls, and paint work. There was a door lying in the yard, all the windows had been smashed, and broken glass was scattered on the ground. There was a car in the parking lot, and it had also been smashed in the fight. Lynsey was frazzled and crying, her baby still clutched tightly in her arms.

Their landlord, fed up with the constant fight and the property damage, evicted the couple from the apartment. Recounting the events of that incident, Mitchell told reporters that he went absolutely berserk. Absolutely mental. Following this incident, Harwood warned Lynsey that if she remained in a relationship with Mitchell, he would end up killing her one day. As usual, Lynsey tried to make excuses for Mitchell.

The couple moved to a home closer to where Lynseys parents lived, but there wasnt much interaction between them. Lynseys family kept their distance when Mitchell was around, and this drove an even deeper wedge into the already fickle relationship. Mitchells abusive nature didnt let up even as Lynseys pregnancy advanced. Their son, Jack, was born in October 1997. Soon after the boy was born, Mitchell packed up his belongings and walked away. Lynsey, now a single parent to two boys, began focusing more on how to take care of herself and her boys. She sought help from Womens Aid in April 1998, shortly after Mitchell left. As she worked through her issues with the help of the professionals and volunteers at the center, Lynsey revealed that she was terrified of her husband, and that she was petrified of what he could be capable of. This time, her focus was on keeping her children safe and far away from Mitchells violence.