Gareth Pierce – Widnes
Date: July 2025
📍 Location
Widnes, Cheshire
⚖️ Offences
- Coercive control
- Physical assault (strangling, punching, headbutting)
- Threats to kill and use acid
- Harassment and stalking
- Threatening to bomb a home and car
- Manipulation from prison via phone calls
📝 Summary
Gareth Pierce, 36, subjected his former partner Catherine Worsley to a prolonged campaign of psychological and physical abuse, including strangulation, headbutting, and threats of acid attacks. Even after his arrest, Pierce attempted to control her from prison by making chilling threats during recorded phone calls.
He threatened to disfigure her with acid, have her stabbed, and burn her house and car. In one call, he said: “You’re going to have a mad f***ing looking swollen burnt face and I will laugh when it happens. Your son won’t even recognise his own mother.”
Despite intimidation, Catherine bravely recorded the phone calls and testified in court. Her actions led to Pierce’s conviction and a 33-month prison sentence.
🚨 Sentence
- 33 months in prison
- Restraining order (assumed from severity)
🗒 Notes
Catherine shared her story publicly to raise awareness and encourage other abuse survivors to speak out. She endured years of control and violence, including a terrifying six-hour hostage situation where she was locked in her bedroom and left covered in blood.
Pierce has prior convictions for drug trafficking in 2011 and 2014. Catherine, now in counselling, hopes her story empowers other victims to come forward and recognise abuse patterns early.