Berlinah Wallace
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Hey you guys, it's Mara. I just wanted to give everybody a formal trigger warning for this episode. It is a little bit tougher to get into. There is talks of rape, of suicide ideation, and harmful attacks. The worst part is in the beginning, so I advise you to skip to about minute four after you find out who the players are if you are very sensitive to things like that. This is a great story, but it was very hard to get through.

Enjoy the show. What's going on, everybody? I'm Marah. And I'm Tez. And welcome back to Sisters Who Kill. The thing about the law is that there are a lot of technicalities. So what happens when your future relies solely on how someone interprets the law?

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Free money. Free money is out there. Just go get it by starting your podcast today. Our players this week are Mike Van Dogen, the victim.

I'm Bernilla Wallace, our murderess. Berlina Wallace was born in South Africa in the late 1960s, where she lived with her mother and her stepfather. Now, life was not easy for Berlina by any stretch. It was reported that she suffered abuse from both of her parents, and she actually had a baby by the age of 14. Several years after that, both her baby and her boyfriend died a few months apart.

When she was 20 years old, she was attacked and gang raped by a bunch of men. And from that incident, she contracted HIV.

Once she started getting into her adulthood, she wanted to leave South Africa and she decided that she was going to relocate to the UK. She became a part-time fashion student at the University of West England in Bristol in the UK. She became a part-time fashion student at the University of West England in Bristol in the UK. And she was known to have difficulty regulating her emotions. They were like, she's either like very bright and bubbly or she's...

angry, which is most of the time she's just like angry. And she also suffered from depression and anxiety. Now in 2012, Berlina was 43 years old and she was on a dating website. This dating website was very specific because it was for other people that also had HIV so that you could connect

on that level. And that is where Berlina met Mark. Mark Van Dogen was born in the Netherlands in late 1980s to a very close-knit and loving family. He was especially close to his dad, Keys, who describes him as a loving and gentle person who was too good for this world. Mark met Berlina around age 23, and she had a smooth 20 years on him. But he liked them. He liked them cougars, you know? He did. That was his type. Yeah.

Mark was inspired and comforted by Berlina's ability to just move on with her life after the diagnosis of HIV. She didn't let it stop her. She didn't let it take her joy. And he was like, you know,

I was recently diagnosed with HIV, too. You know, his ex cheated on him, brought some shit home. He had to deal with it. You know, I think at first getting that news can be quite devastating. But watching somebody live their life freely and letting you know, like, it's okay. There's still, you know, there's still time.

Life can still happen. And love can still happen. So many people have misconceptions about HIV. And even when you contract HIV, you don't know anything but the media, the propaganda that was put out there. So...

I'm sure that you immediately have that feeling of like, oh my goodness, I'm unlovable. And you know, when it first came out, it was like a death sentence. But it's like, we've come so far. I'm sure that at a smooth 23, it was really hard for him to digest. Devastating. And, you know, Belinda was definitely a source of comfort. She had had the virus for over 20 years. And, you know, it was just really inspiring for him.

Now, Mark was living in the Netherlands when they had first met online. And for the first year, Mark would travel from the Netherlands to Bristol to go visit her. After a year, Mark decided, you know, I'm serious about her. I want to spend more time together. I'm going to move to Bristol.

He quickly got a high-paying job as a construction engineer, and with his salary, he was able to support the two of them. They traveled together, they visited Mark's family, made new friends, and they're just this happy, normal couple. Even Mark's dad, Keys, treated Berlinda like a daughter. You know, he was just happy to see his son happy.

However, behind closed doors, Berlina was really controlling. And also, it's said that she was pretty physically abusive. Now, Mark's friends would see Mark with these scratches and bruises, and they were like, yo, friend, what's going on? And he would be like, you know, Berlina, she did this. And of course,

There wasn't any hardcore evidence. He didn't go to the police and get any police written statements or anything like that. But this is just like recounts from his friends. Like they used to see that shit all the time. Also, Berlina would do crazy stuff at the house, like hit herself or throw herself down the stairs, smack herself around and be like, I'm about to call the police on you. And I'm about to tell them that you did this to me because who are they going to believe, me or you? And yeah.

This would happen every time that Mark was trying to be like, listen, I'm just trying to get out of this situation. I'm just trying to leave. But she would constantly start a fight. She would constantly abuse him for cheating. He's like, that's my character. I'm not a cheater. I did not cheat on you, never cheated on you. And she didn't care because what she believed is what she believed. So, you know, Mark got money as this

construction engineer, great job, great benefits. So, you know, Berlina didn't work. Mark was taking care of everything. I mean, you got yourself an engineer girl, right? So instead of being

grateful for what she had. I don't know. That's going to sound bad. She was like, it sounds like the dream. It would be to most of us. But she, on the other hand, took advantage of Mark financially. Not only was she draining his accounts, like draining them out, but she also was sending a very substantial amount of money to her family in South Africa. And the whole time that they were in a relationship,

She didn't work. There were times where she would, where Mark would try to go. He said that he was going to go somewhere. Or if they got angry with each other and he said that he was leaving, she would hide his passport so there would be no way for him to leave. One time they got into a really, really heated argument. It was 2014. And they're going back and forth. And Barlena...

She throws boiling hot water on Mark. I mean, like today I was born today. I was boiling some sweet potatoes and that water just like, you know, like the water from the bubbles. One little pop. It's like it's like a grease splatter. Like, yeah. Yeah.

So originally when this happened, Mark was, so Mark did what everybody in an abusive relationship, abusive relationship one-on-one. When he was asked by the paramedics and the doctors what happened to him, initially he said that it was a complete accident. Now the two frequently, I mean, area of the day, they hot or they cold, they yes or they no, they in or they out, they up or they down. You know what I'm saying? Break up, break up to makeup.

Yes, it is a game for fools. And boy, they were both fools in love. Now, all this breakup, get back together, breakup, get back together. People were like,

why don't you just leave her, Mark? Like leave her for real. And Mark was like, you know, I can't really leave her for real because I feel bad for her. Like I know her. Don't nobody know her like I know her. And I can't just leave her to the streets. You know, like I've been supporting her. I've been doing everything. Like we good. We good. Like his friends and family are like, you know, we're getting scared for you. And he's like, no, no need to be scared. Like

yeah I got a few marks on my neck and yeah I got some marks on my torso and yeah it looked like she just choked me out but it's okay like nothing to be scared of and it's always those times when you're making excuses for the abuser that you know that or like as the family member you know that they're in deep and that's the hard part being the family member of somebody that's being abused and knowing they're in deep and and it's nothing you can do for them just wait for them to get out

Right. And watching them make mistake after mistake and knowing that your opinions, thoughts, concerns are going on on deaf ears. I hate that. And they were really concerned. So boiling hot water that happened in what, 2014. Here we are in summer of 2015. They separated for good. And Mark was like, you know what, I'm going to start getting out there. I'm going to be on the dating scene. But here's the thing. They were separated. They weren't having sex.

They weren't doing really much of anything sexual. However, they were still at the same house. Streaming October 6th on Paramount+. First place I learned about death was the Pet Sematary. Dead things buried in that land would come back. There's something else. Something's wrong with Timmy. He needs time to adjust. That's not Timmy. Something's talking through him.

Sometimes dead is better. Pet Cemetery. Bloodlines. Rated R. Streaming only on Paramount+. A woman named Violet Farquharson. Now, this woman was 46 years old because we already told you that Mark likes the Cougars. And that's where his taste lies. So Violet was 46 years old and she was living in Berlin.

So what he was doing is he was just staying at a hotel. So he's still paying rent where they are at the flat. And he's buying hotels for him to stay with at night also so that he can be with his girlfriend. And then eventually he made that smooth transition into moving into his girlfriend's house.

Now, when he was at his girlfriend's house and they were living together, he gets a late night phone call from Berlina. And she's crying. She's sobbing. She's just like so upset. And of course, Mark is like, what's wrong? What's wrong? What do you need? What is it? And she says that she overdosed and died.

When she said it, she was just like crying, like, I can't do this anymore. I just can't be without you. And kind of painting this overdose as like a suicide attempt. And Mark was like, oh my gosh. The guilt came in really quickly and he ran right back to her side and back into the home. So Violet went bye-bye and Berlina wins again. I bet Violet was pissed. I know I be. I done moved you in, nigga. I did all this. And this how you treat me? Right.

This is a white man. I would just make everybody, make sure everybody knows. I moved you in and this is how you're going to do me. So they're on again, off again. Relationship starts again. The sources on if she actually had an overdose or if she didn't actually have an overdose in that particular incident depends on what you believe.

But really, Berlina was just like looking at her account and realized she didn't have access to Mark's account and was like, oh, no, I need to figure out a way to get him back. Let's pull at his heartstrings. I know him best. And that's how she made that happen. That's the way you work that one. So in August of 2015, Mark finally reported her to the police for harassment.

Finally, there's like a paper trail happening. And when that happened, oh, she sent him a shit ton of text messages. How dare you? You ain't shit. You gonna call the police on me? Da da da da da. And then she was also calling Violet's phone. Violet would say, hello. And she'd just be like, and then hang up the phone. Fucking mouth breather. In her ear, like, girl, get off my line.

So Mark was trying to deescalate the situation. He was like, okay, let's see what we can do. We're not married. So I don't owe you any type of spousal support. However, we have been living together and I've been taking care of anything. How about I give you some type of financial support and when you're back on your feet, you'll be back on your feet. She didn't like that idea and she was not happy about it. The phone calls still kept coming.

The verbal and physical abuse kept coming. And so finally the police were like, okay, Berlina, listen, this is your warning. I'm going to give you a verbal warning to stop calling this man's girlfriend and stop putting your hands on this man. Do you hear me, young lady? And she was like, cool, whatever. Verbal warning? Who gives a fuck? I wipe my ass with verbal warnings, just like everybody else.

She was so upset about him calling the police on her, so upset about these verbal warnings, so upset about him going around telling people that she was being abusive and how dare he do that, that she decided that she was going to go online and she was looking online. She was angry shopping. You know how you angry shop? Usually I go to Shein.

Fashion Nova, Amazon. Berlinda decided that she was going to online shop for a bottle of 98% concentrated sulfuric acid. That's right. The next day after that, I guess she was very worked up. She had some type of mental health episode and she actually reached out to a crisis hotline before overdosing. Now this overdose we know for a fact was real. It wasn't fabricated or anything like that.

And from there, she spent the next 24 hours in the hospital. Now, allegedly, allegedly, Mark came running back again, clearly upset, sees that she's in the hospital. Here you are trying to overdose again, feeling bad for her, feeling sorry for her, of course, telling her that he loves her, telling her that, you know, we can figure it out, baby. We got this. And while he was professing his love to her,

She was Googling things like sulfuric acid. She was Googling, hmm, what happens if you drink sulfuric acid? Hmm, let me look up these acid attacks. Hmm, what happens if you throw sulfuric acid on someone? Well, let me see some pictures of victims of sulfuric acid.

Let me see the case of Katie Piper. And Katie Piper is something, it happened in the UK. So Katie Piper had a jealous boyfriend. Her jealous boyfriend at the time attacked her by throwing acid in her face. And she got, he got nine years in prison. And she was on like 80 different web pages figuring out what sulfuric acid does, which I don't know if this is in here, but

I didn't know that sulfuric acid attacks in the UK are like very common. Yeah, like on the rise. They're super common. And I was listening to a podcast and these white women, we listen to the white women do podcasts, so you don't have to. These white women were talking about the rise in the sulfuric acid crimes are...

Essentially, they're alternative to gang violence because there's such strict gun laws. People can't get a hold of weapons, but you can get a hold of sulfuric acid. And she was like the number one, of course, domestic disputes, but the number one use is men on men gang violence. That blew my mind.

That's according to that white woman. I don't know what source she read, but that blew my mind. Now, in addition to stricter gun laws, they need stricter asset laws. And I think they have, like, you have to have, like, certain, like, a business license or something to buy it. Right, right. I mean, like, I don't even know what the laws are in the state because I have asset in the other bathroom. I think it comes down to the percentage. So I think she had, like, 98% or something. And so, like, you can get a 10% or a 5%, but, like...

After it gets past a certain level, it's like, okay, what do you need this for? What are you using this for? Right. Now, when she got mail and her package came, she saw that there was a warning label. She said, don't need that, ripped it off. And she tested the sulfuric acid by pouring it on the table. And she said, oh yeah, it burns. She ain't said it, but y'all know. So on September 23rd of 2015,

Um, Mark was with Berlina. I think he was saying like he he needed her to drive to go get a new driver's license picture. They ended up back at her house and they agreed to have dinner. Now, we don't know if she like cried her way, like, please spend some time with me or threatened him, threatened herself.

We don't know how he got persuaded into this dinner, but he was. He decided to stay. They, of course, end up in an argument because that's what they do. Like almost immediately after arriving to the apartment. And who knows what it's about? All the arguments are stupid, right? Never about nothing. Niggas just like to be mad sometimes. But Berlina's like, you know what? I'm out of here. I'm going to go spend a night at a hotel. And Mark's just like, I guess I'm sleeping here tonight. It's about 3 a.m.

And Berlina gets a little stir crazy. So she goes back to her apartment where Mark is sleeping. She stands over him at the edge of the bed and she begins laughing like a crazy person. And he like starts to wake up. And before he can like open his eyes for real, he hears her say, if I can't have you, no one can. And she pours acid on him.

over his face. Immediately, he began screaming in agonizing pain. The cup was full of the acid. So he like, he's sleeping and I guess he just sleeps in his underwear. And so like his skin is all exposed. He is hurting, hurting, hurting. And so like

One neighbor is like, he has this neighbor, Thomas Sweet, and he was like, you know, I thought foxes were fighting. And then I realized I hear somebody saying, help me. And another neighbor is like, I hear somebody saying, ah, acid. I thought he had a bad trip on LSD.

And so people like they didn't really know. Honestly, if somebody was like, oh, my God, acid. I think that would probably be my first thought, too, especially if I'm hearing it and I don't see you physically. Yeah. And then it's they're fucking in Europe. So he's just sitting there melting, literally melting in the street. He's yelling, somebody, please help. Somebody, please help. Please. I need a shower. Please, please, please.

He's like, somebody please call 999. That's what it is in England. The neighbor calls 999. He's like, you know, running him under cold water, trying to help him. And Mark's body, 25% of it is covered in this acid. Again, the acid is so strong. It's literally got his face melting off. His eyes are bloodshot. Looks like his skin had been bleached.

I think one of his eyeballs were missing. Like, one of the witnesses were just like, yeah, one of his eyeballs was not there. Not there or, like, hanging, right? Yeah, something like that. Like...

Clearly, one eye was not making it pass. Right. In addition to the eye, one of his ears also burnt off. His nose is melting. Like, the acid is tearing into his skin. This acid is so strong, it even ate through the doorbell on his house when he was, like, running out. Paramedics get there and...

You know, they're inside the neighbor's house running him under cold water. Like they got to try and alleviate the pain and the burning as much as they can at this point. They're trying to get the acid off of him. And, you know, even with them trying to get him under cold water, there's not much you can do for the pain at this point. Like it's so bad. The neighbor is asking if this guy even still has any eyelids.

He says he looks like he's frothing at the mouth, like covered in gray colored paint. It's just, it was a horrible sight to see. But despite this, Mark was very clear on who did this to them. And he was like, it was Berlina. It was my ex. It was Berlina. So he tells this to his neighbors. He tells it to the paramedics. Nobody be mistaken. It was Berlina, right? So...

They're putting the gas over his mouth. He, again, wants to be clear. He points to a tattoo he has

on his stomach that has her name on it says Berlina and he's like Berlina Wallace she needs to go to prison for this see it here it's in print she did it make no mistake so paramedics give this information to the police they continue to take him to the hospital he's in critical condition they get there and they immediately sedate him because the pain is so bad but before they did

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he just lets out this scream. He's like, kill me now. My face is going to be looking like this. I don't want to live. Like, I'm telling you, he's unrecognizable. You see that before and after picture. It is like, my God. So, you know, the doctors put him under and they, you know, start taking care of Mike and the police go out looking for Verlina.

When they went to Violet's house, they make sure that Violet's safe. First, they go to Violet's house to make sure that Violet's safe. And then they go to Berlinda's apartment. When they get to her apartment, she's sitting on the couch acting confused as to why they would possibly be there. Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the attack happened at her apartment because the bed and sheets are burnt in acid like black burns on white sheets.

And they asked her, what did she throw? And she was like acid. She points to the glass on the floor and says, oh, I was distressing some jeans, acid washed jeans. Ever heard of them? I had a little accent on the bed. What's the big deal? Immediately they take her ass down to the station because they've got some questions for her.

During questioning, Berlina gave a different version of events. She said that Mark was violent and extremely abusive and that he escalated the fight and made it physical. She said that night...

And she said that night they got into an argument and he escalated the fight to make it physical. She had reached for what she thought was a glass of water because she was like angry and she was going to do a very dramatic housewives to throw the water in his, in somebody's face. Is that what they do on housewives? Yeah, they do. It's usually not water. It's more like wine or something, but yeah. Okay. And she had no idea that there was acid inside of the cup.

She said, well, this cup of water, Mark made this cup of water for me because I take my, you know, nightly vitamins, my sleepy time pills. And he always fixes me a glass of water. Like it's one of the things that he just does for me. And so he probably was planning on killing me with this cup of water. But instead, I just happened to throw it at him. And now he got it. The police were like, no, girl, we're not buying this.

Because Mark screamed, ran out of the house and was melting in the face. So even if you didn't know that it was acid initially, sure that you could have figured out that it was acid very quickly and that it was definitely not water.

And it's also very suspicious to me that when he ran out of the house screaming and in pain, because if you threw water at somebody, they'll probably wipe their face, get angrier, but they're not going to run out in pain. And you are just sitting here. Also, did you call nine, nine, nine? Right. Also being somebody that has acid in their house, it's for cleaning the pipes for nothing else. Right.

That shit stinks. Like, my first time using acid to clean, like, one of the drains, I almost killed myself. I'm not going to sit here and hold you. I was like, oh, my God, I need to open up a window. I actually had to, like, leave the house because the smell of acid is strong. It ain't a weak smell. So you're going to know if it's acid or water. Just, you know. I'm just going to throw that out there. Anyways.

The police are like, okay, obviously the story is false. And she was charged with throwing a coercive substance with intent. And she was held in custody while she awaited trial. Now when Mark got to the hospital, it took officials 10 days to track down Mark's family.

Imagine just being in the hospital for 10 days and people don't know that you're there. I'm telling you. In the most excruciating pain, like literally there is. 10 days before his family was able to see him, his brother, his brother didn't even recognize him, like did not recognize him at all. He literally went into the room, saw whoever was there on the floor.

hospital bed, went back to the nurse's station and said, I'm sorry, ma'am, you must have given me the wrong room. I'm looking for Mark. And they were like, yes, honey, that's him. Mark spent 11 months in intensive care and

His dad was just really like heart of gold type of dude. Never left his son's side for like the first four months of him being in the hospital. He took a leave off of work. And finally, he did have to return to work. And even though he had to return to work, he spent every weekend at the hospital. And remember, Mark moved away from home. Dad was driving like 800 miles every day.

week to be with his son. Mark spent the first month in a coma and he was only able to breathe through a ventilator. He was in such pain that they just went ahead and put him under. When he woke up, he was unable to communicate at all. And he was also paralyzed from the neck down.

He was starting to suffer from PTSD, from extreme depression. And how do you, I mean, like, how are you even there? Like, you can't speak. You can't do, you can't communicate with people. You can't move. You know, a lot of the things that people are like, oh, if you're depressed, like, let's talk about it or go outside for a walk or, you know, put yourself in another situation. Like, you can't.

All that stuff that you're trying to tell me to do to help with depression, I can't do it because I literally can't move. Once he was in month four of recovery, he was finally able to communicate because they stuck a letter board and he stuck out his tongue.

and was able to communicate with people that way. Like we said, he lost one of his eyes, but the doctors were actually able to save the other eye. But I mean, it was damn near blind. So he really couldn't see too, too much. I mean, enough to see his board, but like, so they were able to save that one eye and it was a piss poor use of the eye, but technically it was saved.

Now, he had to then go to the burn unit where he underwent skin grafts and other procedures. 40%, 40% of this man's body is covered in skin grafts and burns.

Because of the restriction just all in his body, he ended up having to get his left leg amputated because enough blood was not getting to that part of the body and they had to take it. Part of the reason that the pain was so unbearable was that some of his bones, some of his bones had burn holes in them because of the acid attack. Doctors were giving him all of the morphine

All of the pain meds, the highest pain meds that were literally available were

And, and nothing could take him out of the misery of the pain that he was in at the time, like excruciating pain. He also was in the hospital and he was getting infection after infection after infection. He had a problem with his kidneys, a problem with his bowels. And that burn sensation, not only is it painful, but it's itchy. So like,

He can't move to scratch himself, but everything itches. You ever had an itch? Sometimes the itch will hit me like a mosquito bite. Like I'll go and like, like I really have to itch, but I end up like slapping myself in the arm because the itch came out of nowhere and it's so sudden. Mm-hmm.

And it's just a knee jerk reaction because like itch, scratch, right? But like itch, you can't do anything. I think the worst itches are like when your hands are full or you're watching dishes and you can't scratch it yourself. You got to be like, oh, somebody come scratch this itch for me. You know what I mean?

And so like, that's his constant state of fuck it itches and I can't scratch it. Because even if probably somebody could scratch it for him, it's probably like he probably shouldn't scratch it because it's a burn. You know what I mean? Right. And those burns, like I know somebody that has a skin graft on their hand because they burnt their hand and it's very sensitive and delicate skin.

And it's, scratching it is just like one of them good scratches. It's just not possible. Go ahead and put your little shea butter on it to just alleviate, you know, alleviate it. That's what they do. But like, you can't really give it a good, because sometimes I scratch myself. I'd be like, oh girl, you about to scratch the skin off. You can't do that because you will literally scratch your new skin off. The itching that really drove him up the wall. Like it was really...

It was making him feel insane. It was driving him out of his mind. And I can only imagine because like nothing you can do is going to alleviate the pain, the itching, the constant feeling. We're not looking in a mirror right now and sinking him deeper and deeper into a depression.

The hospital noted that this was one of the most severe cases that the hospital had ever seen of these chemical attacks. And like we said, these chemical attacks, they're not super, super common, but they're definitely more common in the UK than they are in the States. And they had at least seen them.

Maybe a few chemical attacks, but nothing compared to what Mark was going through. Mark was getting small wins along the way. He actually regained his ability to speak. This seems like such a great win. Like finally, he's able to communicate with his people, his nurses, his doctors, everybody. And it seemed like almost immediately he gets another infection. This time it was a lung infection.

which put him right back in the ICU. And this lung infection, to get to his lungs, they had to put a huge tube down his throat to get all the fluid out of his lungs. And it took away his ability to speak again. After a year in the hospital, on November 22nd, 2016, he was transferred to a long-term facility in Glasgow.

After spending one night in the facility, he was like, well, they ain't even caring for me here like they do at the hospital. And he called his father. And when his father got there, Mark was in his room covered in his own feces. My man has only been there a day. Right. Y'all couldn't even pretend to call me in. You know, you couldn't even make sure that I was straight for my first day, my first week or so.

So this was clearly a facility that did not care for him in the way that he needed to be cared for or anybody at that point. So his family and friends, they weren't having any of that. And they helped him move to Belgium to receive better care and to be closer to the family. Despite having great care,

Mark was facing constant setbacks. I mean, we told you about the infections, the ability to speak, which is a good one, the lung infection, which he was unable to speak. Now he's able to talk again. And then he gets another lung infection, y'all. And this time, after they did the whole tube down the throat, get the liquid out of his lungs, he was never able to speak again. He then told his dad, like,

He begged and pleaded with his family, communicating with them the way that he was able to. And he was like, I'm tired of fighting. I've suffered too much pain. I can't take it anymore. I got to go. Just let me go. I don't want to be here anymore. And everything that he was going through was too much to bear. And it was just so bad that he applied to be voluntarily euthanized.

Now, voluntary euthanization is actually legal in Belgium, but there's a bit of requirements that you have to meet. You can't just be like, oh, I want to die and then do that. Can't do that. There has to be certain requirements. And some of them are that the patient is legally competent, which Mark is legally competent. The request must be made voluntarily. Mark made the request voluntarily.

The patient must be in a medically futile condition and in constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be alleviated. Check. That's Mark. And alternatives must be discussed. So, I mean, he was already doing alternatives up until then and...

They discussed different options with him as well. And of course, he met all the criteria. And after 15 months of suffering from this attack, Mark died of voluntary euthanization at 7.15 p.m. on January 2nd, 2019. He was 29 years old. Now that Mark had passed away...

Berlina, who was still awaiting trial, her charges were modified and they decided that they were going to tack on murder. Her trial began November 2017. So Berlina goes through her first trial. It's a trial by judge. And the judge is like, yeah, this shit is crazy. I definitely find you guilty on this acid attack. But this murder charge, I don't know that I can rightfully do that. So Berlina

prosecution files an appeal and they were granted a retrial this time with the jury so the defense goes and they argue that berlina did not directly result that what berlina did did not directly result in mark's death if you want to ask who killed mark talk to his fucking doctor then you'll see now this time she's saying that mark was trying to use the acid to kill her she was like

Yeah, nightly routine, Mark brings me a cup of water. This time, instead of a cup of water, it's acid. He literally wanted me to burn my insides out. Which again, if he had acid in a cup and you were going to drink it, you would smell it before you taste it. But the prosecution's like, eh, eh, eh, we're not buying it. You bought the acid. You researched acid attacks.

You didn't show any shock, care, or concern when his face was melting off in front of you.

So, Berlina, you know, continues with her testimony. She says, I asked Mark, why don't you just kill me? She's like, because I don't have any peace with this man. I was like, just put me out of my misery. She says, you know what Mark says to me? Mark says, I should kill you myself. And then he goes in the kitchen and he comes back with the acid and put it on the table and said, there you go. Kill yourself. I'll watch.

She's thinking it's a glass of water so that she can take all her pills and overdose the way she had in her previous one to two attempts. But and she's just like, you know what? I had enough. She's like, I tried to leave and he blocks the door. And I said, please stop. But he didn't. And.

I wanted something to hit him with. So I reached for something and it was a cup on a table. I turned around. I threw the water at him. Only it wasn't water. It was the acid that he used to set me up. When a lawyer asked if she knew what was in the cup, she's like, again, I thought it was water. And that's why I threw it on him because I just wanted him to stop hurting me. She said, I didn't know it was acid until after I threw it at him and I started to see smoke.

Like, the fact that there was smoke coming off of him, she literally melted this man. It baffles me every time I say it. Yeah, girl. You melted him. You know, she says from there she took a shower and she left. She begins crying on the stand. You know, I loved Mark. That was my only family since I've moved from South Africa. Like, he had my heart. Four weeks of this trial went on and the jury...

found it very difficult to figure out if they should find her guilty of murder or even manslaughter. Because did she commit the crime? Yes. Did she directly lead to his death? No. At the end of the day, what she did to him was survivable. She just chose not to live anymore, right? Right. And it's so horrible to say, right? Mm-hmm. And that's where those technicalities of...

law come in because I mean at the end of the day even the girl that she what was her name Kate Katie Piper she was looking up that case Katie survived so at the most it seems like Berlinda was like okay two years I can do that right

And it was like, you'll be so, and I think her mindset is you'll be so ugly and horrendous. Nobody else will want you. You know what I mean? But not that you'll be dead. Like the intent to kill is not there. The, you know, didn't make it like he didn't lose his life during the attack. It's months later and he's,

You know, he was still alive and then he just made the choice that it wasn't worth it. And I think, you know, can you hold somebody else responsible for making that choice? I think it can fall either way. But, you know, it's up to a jury now to decide how they want to interpret the law. So they go for deliberation.

and they find her not guilty of murder or manslaughter. At her sentencing, Ms. Justice Nicola Davis gave a fiery speech saying that Berlina's actions were, quote, an act of pure evil. She told Berlina, your intention was to burn, disfigure, and disable Mark Van Dogen so that he would not be attractive to another woman.

She said, it's another example of planning which preceded the throwing of acid upon this man who has been your supportive partner for the past five years. The judge also told Belenna that she waited for Mark to be asleep in his boxer shorts to ensure that she could cause the maximum amount of damage.

She said that he was there, quote, vulnerable, almost naked. He awoke but had no real opportunity to avoid the focus of your acid attack, namely his face and then his body, she said. She also called out Berlina for her lie. She said, quote, having carried out this horrific attack, you then told lie after lie. When you were interviewed by the police, you sought to...

When interviewed by the police, you sought to place the blame upon Mark Van Dogen, falsely alleging that he had poured the acid into a glass on your bedside table, intending for you to drink it. Basically being like, girl, you tried the lie. The lie was trash. And I'm here to tell you all the ways in which that lie was not a

a good lie. She said, it's funny, you know, because that's the account that you gave in 2015 and the one that you're maintaining through the trial. And so at some point you must have really thought that this was a good lie. That's not a direct quote, but y'all get what I'm saying. I feel like I'd be confusing folks with like the direct quote to my embellishments. She said, and it's crazy because like this whole time you're not seeing the ways in which you're wrong.

And your main goal right now is to tear down who Mark was as a person. And I ain't having that in this court. It's not happening. At the end of the day, Mark is no longer alive. He was unable to defend himself against any of your accusations. And it's just bull cocky, you know? It's just, it's really, it's really shit. Mark's dad, he spoke out.

And I mean, one of the heart most heartbreaking stories. And he spoke about how the actions of Berlina really have destroyed him. He said that he just he's been broken. He's a broken man. He's completely drained. The old him does not exist. And he's just so saddened because he was really fighting Berlina.

not only for his son, but he was also fighting with Mark because Mark was really putting up a fight. I mean, 15 months is a long time. And I, 15 months is a very long time to foot up with such excruciating pain and like battle after battle after battle. He said in court, he was like in the past, like nothing would phase me. I'm a really chill guy, but now it just feels like there's lead in my shoes. Like I can't move. I'm so emotional. I'm everything. I'm

I heard that dad, his marriage gone, his finances drained. He's just a shell of a man now because it's not just about you and Mark. Like, you fucked me up, too. You fucked our whole family. And again, there's pictures of him, his dad and her together.

Like I have a picture of us smiling all together and you did this to not only him, but you did this to me too. And that's crazy to me. Now on May 23rd, 2018, she was sentenced to life in prison for having the substance with the intent. She is the first person in the United Kingdom to be sentenced to life over an acid attack. However,

All life sentences in the UK, they are eligible for parole after 12 years. Everyone. And since she had already served two years pre-trial, she was really only going to serve like 10 years before she was eligible for parole.

Her first parole date is in 2027. Mark's dad said that, of course, he is very pleased that she will be locked up for 12 years, but it really doesn't seem like enough. Like it's way too little. She's drained our entire family. She really needs to be in there for the rest of her life.

And he says that he hopes that she does something stupid to mess up so that she's just in there forever. Since this incident, the United Kingdom has passed a law requiring a certification for purchasing sulfuric acid with a concentration over 15%. I think you mentioned that earlier, Tazi, because that's what it is. It's kind of like in America. But I mean, this is still a fairly new development in the UK. And...

It is also banned to sell sulfuric acid to children. Oh, my goodness. Remember when you didn't have to be over 18 to buy rubber cement? Yes, girl. I remember. I remember when I went to college, my first year in college. No, no. College is when I found out that Alabama is the age for tobacco is 19 because I was trying to buy Rellos.

I was so upset. And my dumb ass was like, but I have a Georgia ID. And in the Georgia law, I can buy this. And she was like, baby, you're not in Georgia. I don't care what they do in Georgia because this ain't Georgia. But yeah, that's the story of Berlina Wallace and her victim, Mark Van Dogen. All right, y'all, it's time for... Well, I'm not Black. I'm OJ.

I ain't do it, but if I did, this is how I would have got away with it. I ain't do it, but if I did, if you research this case, like, if you research this case, like, Katie Piper, like, she was, it was him and his friends. Like, he didn't act alone. Also, oh my gosh, friend, have you seen the documentary Crazy Love? Crazy in Love. Let me make sure I got the right one. Crazy Love is really wild. It's like...

It happened in the States. It's one of those stories where like white people do it, be doing crazy shit. I was thinking about making that a Patreon thing, like white people do crazy shit. And this be like, it be just tell the stories of like white people doing crazy shit. So, okay, boom. I'm gonna tell you really quick. So woman, Linda, she's young. She's beautiful. Every man wants her. And then a guy, Bert, he's married.

But he wants Linda. He starts doing all these crazy things talking about how he wants Linda. And Linda found out that he's still married. And so he is like, no, I'm getting divorced. He forges like documents saying that he was getting a divorce. And she had somebody that she knew look up like the number. And it turns out he wasn't getting a divorce. Right. So then.

She says that she doesn't want to be with him. There's this big back and forth. Her grandma is like, hell no, you don't need to be with that white man. They're white too. They're both white. You don't need to be with that white man. And she's like, no, I don't need to be with him. So she avoids him for a little while. They kind of start talking. She keeps avoiding him. So he decides, I mean, she's gorgeous. He decides that he is going to get an acid attack. So he pays somebody else to do it and she gets attacked randomly. She ends up blinded.

I mean, her features are still like she's gorgeous, but she ends up blind, right? And so he goes to jail for like 10 years. The whole time she is like blocking his number. He finds ways. He's very connected because he's a lawyer and he finds all these ways to get in contact with her. Just letting you know, baby, that I still love you. And once I get out, it's going to be me and you. And she actually was engaged to somebody else. This is how the whole acid attack happened. She was engaged to somebody else. And while she was in the hospital, they...

The person she was engaged with left her. So she never actually got married. So this whole like, if I can't have you, nobody can. He actually got that shit. So he gets out of prison and he's like, you know, here I am, baby. I still love you. They are married. Her and the guy who attacked her? Yes. He got what he wanted, which is crazy. And she's she's she's blind.

But at the end, what happened was nobody else wanted her. You know, the point is that I didn't do it. If I did, I would have had somebody else carry out the attack. I do it. But if I did, if you don't want that man to leave, you be nicer. Be somebody he wants to be around. You know, that's a good one, friend.

Because what? Like, he's like, I can't take this. I'ma leave. Oh, you're gonna leave? This man is telling you, I can't deal with this shit. I'm ready to leave. And you just respond with violence. What he can't take is the violence, girl. Just work on you. Be nicer. Be somebody who he would want to be with. That part.

That's a really good one. And also, like, she was able to testify about the fact that she had PTSD and that she had a lot of trauma growing up. And all of those things are completely valid. There are things that need to—this man was taking care of you. I don't know. If somebody was paying for everything, like, for me like that, yes, I do the cooking. Yes, I do the cleaning. Oh, I'm an independent bitch.

I'm going to be an independent and be independently wealthy. I be saying that to myself all the time. But I, I ain't do it. But if I did, police were smart to go to see if what's her face was okay, because that definitely would have probably been,

That would have been a logical next move was for Berliners to find that bitch, Violet, to go to Violet and be like, and I'm coming for you too. Actually, I think I would have done it to Violet in the first place, like done it in passing. And because a lot of these acid attacks, they're random. Like I'm walking down the street and somebody just throws it in my face versus he was there stationary and it was super direct. That's why his...

Injuries are so substantial, more substantial than most acid attacks, which are already gruesome. Maybe I would have done it to Violet. I would have seen Violet on the street and got her ass. I bet you don't want that bitch no more. I'm just thinking, I'm putting on my like crazy ex-girlfriend hat. It's been a while since I put her on. Getting into character here. I don't know, girl. It was just, this was just not, this was not a good plan all around.

I do understand her not getting the murder. That doesn't make me feel good. It doesn't make her family feel good. A lot of people would argue that she is, especially when she's like, I'm not the cause for his murder. And I think they said something really slick like, technically the people to blame are those doctors that helped put him down or whatever because of you. But it's not a far walk up the indirectly. You know, you didn't directly cause it, but...

It's only a jump hop and a skip away. Girl, we can connect the dots on how you led him here. Right. Like, it's almost a medical miracle that he's still alive with holes in his bones. He's got burn holes in his bones. And then...

Like, if you look at, there's a diagram, and we'll post it, of, like, where his body was burned. I mean, the entire face, his front chest, there's, like, a tiny spot on his back, like, right up, right near his butt. And I just know that spot be itching. I just feel so bad for you. Like, I know that spot right on your back. Just, I know that shit itch. And you can't move yourself. And then not being able to communicate, you can't tell somebody anything.

He was in hell on earth. Yeah. He would have preferred you killed him. At that point. He asked, you know? And then, you know, I think it was really his pushing point after he lost his ability to speak for the third and final time. It was just like, I can't walk. I can't move. I hurt. But on top of this, I can't even speak to my loved ones. Like, I don't feel connected. I'm just existing. And nobody wants to do that.

You don't want to just exist. That's not living. Do you think that you would have signed up for the voluntary euthanization? Yeah, I think it should be a thing. Like, and I agree with their guidelines. You know what I mean? Like under these things, and I think they're good rules. Like, are you in a situation that cannot be helped?

You know, because they just sit there and let people sit there until they die. You know what I mean? Or like until something goes wrong, they're just waiting to have a heart attack so they can say do not resuscitate or something. And it's just like, just let them go. And they don't want to be here if they're not enjoying their life anymore. It's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse. Like, why send me into a deeper depression? And put us in more debt. All those lung infections cost money.

And I don't even think that the money is a part of it because I really think they would have been able to figure that out. Crowdfunding or anything. But like he's there's nothing left. You gave me nothing. I have nothing left. What you you want some dick? I can't. I'm paralyzed from the neck down. Is this what you wanted? We want it for nobody else to have them. And she got that.

And I think another thing that we didn't, I don't think we mentioned it earlier, but after they like sign off on it, they have to wait in like a month. I think it's something like that. They have to wait a little time period. The patient still feels the same way. And I think they're good guidelines. You know, they're realistic. They're reasonable. They're safe. Right. And you're not just able to say like, oh, I want to be put down. Yeah, you really have to have legit reason. Yeah.

And I think even the hardest, I think even the hardest circumstances to be up against and the hardest like ethical debates really can be put down because of the rules that were put in place. And I feel like they were proper rules to make sure that it's done correctly. But I understand why Mark did it 1,000%. Yeah.

Parole or no parole? No parole. At least not the first one. I think there's never really. I mean, I don't, I don't. She's only been in there like five years, but at no point from when the crime happened to the trial to period in this story, whether any remorse or any accountability. She cried and said she loved him. We all knew she loved him. That's why she's acting.

But that's not how you treat people you love. Right. You don't get to torture and attack people you love just because they don't want to be with you. It's giving facility for me. Just the calm that she had when they came back. I think. And the crazy thing is, I can see that she made my logical want to...

Point out all the things that she did right. Brain is like, well, you know, she did call a crisis helpline. But also, after you attacked him, you called your friend on the phone. She didn't just, like, get into a daze and sit down. She called somebody and then got into this daze and sit down. Like, she... It's giving detached. It's giving hella detachment. There's clearly a lot in her past that she has not addressed. She's running away from Demon. She's fighting. So...

I think you need to be with a specialized team that is there to support you in a specialized mental health facility. It's so recent that I can't even give you, like, a timeline right now. Like, I really need you to just sit there. That's what I was saying. It was only five years ago, and I ain't even—it's too—

But at this point, I'm still mad about what happened. You know, there's been no cool off period yet. Ten years. I mean, it takes people longer than that to get their credit back in order, to get their finances back in order. And here are his parents. Well, here is his dad that has to do this all alone. Well, that's the end of that. That was so sad. Do you have any other thoughts? No.

And now it's time for some reviews today. It's on the show, the podcast on today. You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Instagram, TikTok. I don't know. You can leave us a review on almost any platform. If you are on a platform wherever you're listening right now, stop by

Give us five stars. And if you have the ability to, please write us a review. You may hear your review on this show. If your streaming platform does not give you that option and you want to tell us some kind words, shoot it to us via email at sisterswhokillpodcasts at gmail.com. If you have mean words and things that you want to say, how about you not leave a review, but you can still email us and we'll address it there.

You have a review, friend? All right. This review is in response to your one star that you read a few weeks ago. Okay. About the Caucasians and the white folk? Yep. Got it. Okay, you ready? Good morning, Mariah and Taz. I live for Fridays when I get to listen to a new episode, first of all.

Real quick, though. Secondly, I just want to respond to whomever wrote in. Real quick, though. Secondly, I just want to respond to whoever wrote into y'all last week and gave y'all one star. Parentheses. I gave y'all five and then had the audacity to try and read y'all for saying, quote, white folks when they started off with the shit with the two high and mighty black girls.

I don't know, but I guarantee you they were white. As am I. Here's the difference. I love listening to y'all because it gives me a perspective that I as a white person or Caucasian can and will never be able to understand because I have never endured anything like the community people of color do still on a regular basis.

Because as unjust as it is, I've grown up with systems around me built by white people for white people to preserve and succeed at the expense of anyone who doesn't fit into the image they, a.k.a. white people, deem worthy.

I am a gay man. I've always been welcomed and treated with respect and dignity by this community without being made to feel less than. I hate how men of color still, because of societal norms in their own community, find it hard to even be who they are as openly loving who they choose. I know because most of my relationships have been with men of color. I stand against the bigotry that are these people that did just what that person did, tried to come for y'all about not being PC when they started off not being PC.

I hope they rate any other podcast that shows bigotry towards people of color with a one star.

Sorry for the rant. I love what y'all do. I come from a biracial family that's still within our own family fight this same BS daily, and we can't tolerate it. I too often say we want to see change, but rarely are the ones to make that change. So I wanted to write in and tell you that this white folk here loves and admires what you two are doing, sharing perspectives we might not otherwise have. Keep on with love and gratitude. Cece, I'm not going to name him.

I saw that in the email. That was so sweet. That was long. This review is for Nels Kim. I don't know why these random letters are here, but it says five stars. And she says, read my review so I can win a bet. You won. What do we get? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Hey, I'm Trish, my sister Mary, and I have a bet to see if y'all will read my review. Help a college student out and help me win, y'all. Anywho, y'all crack me up and I use your podcast as a rewarding break from studying or any assignment I need to complete. My toxic trait is really believing I could have gotten away with these murders. Keep up the good work so I can keep up the good grades. You're welcome, Trish, and tell Mary to suck it.

Yeah. Tell her to pay up if she owe you money. Yeah. Suck it, Mary. You owe her $20. That's it. That's the end of the show. If you want to keep up with us, you can on a whole bunch of different platforms. You can follow us on Instagram at Cis-Cis Who Kill Pod, on TikTok, Cis-Cis Who Kill Podcast, on Twitter, Cis-Cis Who Kill, and you can join the discussion group if you answer the questions and use nice language so that we don't get shut down. Anything else, friend? Talk to us. We talk back. Bye.