Lee Mercer, from Skelmersdale, has died in prison less than two years into his sentence for strangling his ex-girlfriend and threatening to kill her and her children. He was 45.
Mercer, of Beechtrees, Skelmersdale, was jailed for four years and seven months in December 2024 after pleading guilty to intentional strangulation, ABH, making threats to kill and criminal damage.
Chilling attacks
Preston Crown Court heard the then 44-year-old attacked his victim during two separate incidents four days apart. During the incidents, Mercer strangled the woman and threatened to kill her. He also told her he would kill her children and asked her to choose which child would be first.
Victim's statement
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "I was literally living in hell. He knew this. He told me I had met the devil referring to himself. I now know he is pure evil."
She said she suffers PTSD and cannot watch TV as it triggers her symptoms. She feels guilty that she tried to protect her children but Mercer threatened to kill them. She no longer attends exercise classes or walks daily like she used to.
"I find myself waking up in the night screaming and crying," she said. "I feel like Lee is in bed next to me, calling me a slag and telling me it's going to be me or the kids first. I find myself isolating myself inside the house. My friends have noticed how much I have changed. They say I am no longer my happy self and I am closed off."
"It is traumatising. I don't deserve the behaviour he has inflicted on me. Even though he can't get to me I am still afraid. He is the devil - he has not only destroyed my life, he has destroyed me."
Death in prison
After Mercer was jailed he was transferred to HMP Wymott near Leyland where he died on July 14 this year.
A spokesperson for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said: "An independent investigation into Lee Mercer's death at HMP Wymott on 14 July 2026 has begun. We will make our final report public after the inquest concludes."
