6 hours ago
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Selena JacksonBBC Scotland
Anne Marie Boyle: 'I think he knew precisely where to hit me'
A beautician has told how a single punch from an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter on a night out changed her life forever.
Anne Marie Boyle was knocked unconscious after turning down Sean McInnes' advances in a pub in September 2024.
The mother-of-two, who said she was "lucky to be alive", suffered a broken eye socket and cheekbone.
But she said the attack also left her with a brain injury and subsequent seizures which led to her losing her business, her ability to drive and her confidence.
This story contains images of injuries some readers may find upsetting.
McInnes - who had competed in a major Muay Thai competition - was jailed for 21 months in March.
Anne Marie Boyle
Anne Marie ended up with a broken cheekbone, a brain injury and lasting trauma after a quiet night out
Anne Marie, a beauty and complementary therapist with her own successful business, was at a pub in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, with her cousins on the night of the incident.
She told BBC Scotland News it was a bar she would not usually go to, but they had gone to see a psychic show.
The 38-year-old said a quiet night later turned into a life-changing nightmare.
"My daughter had football the next day, so I knew I was driving and I wasn't actually drinking a lot that night," she said.
"This boy kept approaching the table. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. He just wouldn't leave us alone."
Anne Marie said 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."
Sean McInnes was a trained MMA fighter who had competed in the Lion Fight 68 event, a major Muay Thai competition.
When the pub closed, Anne Marie and her friends went to leave and walk home.
She said to McInnes, "Please, just go the other way."
But he continued to harass them.
Anne Marie said: "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."
She said McInnes - who had competed in the Lion Fight 68 - pushed her cousin so hard "she was screaming".
Seconds later he punched Anne Marie in the face.
She added: "I was knocked unconscious.
"Immediately after that he knocked another boy unconscious."
What they didn't know then is that McInnes was a trained MMA fighter.
Anne Marie Boyle
Anne Marie's eye socket and cheekbone were broken in the attack
"I've never felt pain like that," Anne Marie said.
"I think he knew precisely where to hit me."
Her face and teeth were agony.
She added: "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."
Anne Marie was in hospital for three weeks and was then diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). She said this causes the brain to stop sending signals to the body, which has resulted in her having seizures.
She also now suffers from involuntary tremors and chronic pain.
The whole ordeal has had a huge impact on her life.
Unable to work, she has lost her business and her driving licence was revoked because she is not safe to get behind the wheel.
Anne Marie said: "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."
She added that her mental symptoms were sometimes worse than her physical ones.
Anne Marie also said that having to go through the court process and see McInnes' face again was "horrendous".
McInnes pleaded his innocence until the day of the trial when he finally admitted the assault.
Anne Marie was disappointed he was not given a longer sentence.
"He will get out and he will go back to his family and his children," she said.
"He'll be able to drive, go back to his job.
"And I can't work because I could drop at any time."
She now wants to make the public aware of the risks people like McInnes pose.
And she wants to make the world safer for women like her two daughters.
Anne Marie said: "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."
