Luke Addis was jailed for over three years at Worcester Crown Court for coercive control and ABH (Image: handout)

Secret life of Birmingham Updates founder who beat girlfriend and lied about stage four cancer

27 Oct 2024, 05:30 by Stephanie Balloo, https://www.facebook.com/MissBalloo/ · Birmingham Live

He ran one of Birmingham's most popular and influential websites and was known across the city. Luke Addis claimed he was a rich man from a wealthy family, boasting a 48-home property empire and private jets.

There was just one problem - only his online work as the founder of the Birmingham Updates site was true. And the extent of Addis's secret double life, which culminated in the horrific abuse of his ex-partner, was laid bare in a courtroom this week.

His supposed wealth, protected by a private security detail and trackers, was in a trust fund he couldn't access, Addis claimed. He also said he suffered from stage four cancer, his testicles had been removed and replaced with prosthetics, leaving him unable to have children.

All of it was lies. Three months into their relationship, his partner fell pregnant with a child Addis - who is no longer involved with Birmingham Updates - branded a 'miracle baby' due to the 'minute' chance of conception.

His deceit later became just one of many tactics used to control his former partner, who ended up both 'subsidising his living' and keeping their family afloat. As she tried to leave him early in their relationship, Addis - in what a court heard was a 'depraved act of lying' - told her he didn't want to fight cancer alone. She herself had lost family members to the disease.

Worcester Crown Court heard how, during their three-year relationship, he forced her to move from one Airbnb and hotel to the next amid false promises of a flat purchase in London, and later a £1million house in Hopwood. None of it materialised.

The court heard he lived in a small wooden shack with his mother, her partner and his disabled niece until the age of 27. This week, the 36-year-old was jailed for three-and-a-half years, 43 months in total, for assaulting, controlling and gaslighting his ex-girlfriend.

Judge Jackson dismissed the notion his offending was a result of ill mental health, branding him a "manipulative, controlling, practiced and polished liar." Sending him to prison, the judge told Addis there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation until he confronted what he had done.

He had admitted coercive control and actual bodily harm (ABH) at an earlier hearing, but details of the violence and control only emerged during sentencing on Wednesday, October 23. In the ABH incident Addis accused his girlfriend, who spent £30,000 to keep their family afloat, of being a gold digger.

The court heard how he punched her in her head, arms and body in a 'relentless, sustained attack' inside their car. As she got out, Addis pushed her over and kicked her, leaving bruising.

Signs and symptoms of domestic abuse, according to Refuge

Is your partner jealous and possessive?
Are they charming one minute and abusive the next?
Do they tell you what to wear, where to go, who to see?
Do they constantly put you down?
Do they play mind games and make you doubt your judgment?
Do they control your money, or make sure you are dependent on him for everyday things?
Do they pressure you to have sex when you don’t want to?
Are they starting to walk on eggshells to avoid making him angry?
Do they control your access to medicine, devices or care that you need?
Do they monitor or track your movements or messages?
Do they use anger and intimidation to frighten and control you?

Pushing - either to the ground or down flights of stairs - pulling and punching were listed in a number of incidents described by his former partner. The court heard that, on another occasion Addis punched her in the head in the car because he was unhappy she hadn't made dinner arrangements.

That day, she had both been at work and looking after their child, the court was told. He made her promise to 'do better' and apologise before allowing her back inside the car.

Failing to meet his sandwich-making expectations sparked another incident, with Addis pushing her to the floor before kneeling on her chest. Once off, he then hurled a McDonald's drink over her.

Prosecutor Omar Majid told the court: "The defendant would increasingly pull her hair, throw things at her, push her down the stairs, pull her up the stairs, pull her fingers back, throw her against the walls and floor, pin her to the ground and punch her.

"He justified his actions by saying their situation was exceptional." Addis had initially created a 'false persona' as he was ashamed of how he was living, his barrister Lee Egan told the hearing.

As he became well-known across the city as the founder of Birmingham Updates, Addis created a 'false persona', even conjuring a fake birth name amid claims of 'extreme wealth.' Mr Egan told the court: "He tells me, and I know he's embarrassed about it frankly, but up until the age of 27 he was living in what he described as a small wooden shack, or bungalow with his mother, his mother's partner and his niece.

"His niece suffers from Down's Syndrome and he shared a bedroom with her, separated by a curtain. He was living a reclusive life so far as personal interaction was concerned. Something in his make-up works well with, it seems, internet marketing and interaction with others online in a positive way and he developed Birmingham Updates.

"He was then placed in the position where he was dealing with people who were enquiring about him. And he tells me he was ashamed of the circumstances in which he was living, circumstances from which in childhood he had suffered neglect, and he created a persona, which he viewed as being more 'presentationally acceptable.'"

Gaslighting, and victim-blaming, began early on into the relationship with his former partner, but only spiralled into violence once their baby was born, the court heard. But matters escalated as she began questioning lies "that didn't make sense."

Sentencing him, Judge Jackson told Addis: "You deployed lying as one of the many tactics being used to control and coerce her when she was with you. The forms of control you exercised over her, in no particular order, include getting her to subsidise your living expenses, claiming you had financial difficulties, claiming a trust fund was being withheld from you.

Domestic abuse

"All of which was, as you now acknowledge, a pack of lies. You prevented her from having contact with friends or acquaintances on social media, you prevented her from having contact with her own family, isolating her over a significant period of time.

"You then forced upon her moves from one Air BnB or hotel to another, having suggested the two of you should move to a flat in London which, plainly, did not exist. That, I observe, must have been highly disruptive.

"You went through the charade of buying a £1million house in Birmingham, a purchase which was never going to take place, because you withdrew from it after the agents questioned the origin of the funds you said you were using for the purchase.

"There were times where you really gaslighted her, telling her she was a brat, that she was responsible for everything that was wrong. And that is before we get to the acts of physical violence."

Have you been affected by this? We would like to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing stephanie.balloo@reachplc.com