My daughter, 23, took her own life after abusive ex tracked her phone so she could never escape him and urged her to commit suicide – he got less than 5 years in prison

A grieving mother has revealed how her 23-year-old daughter killed herself after months of enduring violent attacks from her abusive ex.

Marc Masterton, 26 – who consistently controlled Chloe Holland’s appearance, isolated her from her friends and family and sickeningly encouraged her to commit suicide – was sentenced this month to just 41 months in prison after pleading guilty to compulsive and controlling behavior .

On one occasion Masterson attacked Chloe with a barbell before handing her a knife and ordering her to hurt herself.

He even placed a tracking device on her phone so she couldn’t escape him.

Just before her death, Chloe reported her ex to Hampshire police, who opened an investigation.

But due to the severe psychological impact of what she went through, the 23-year-old hanged herself in February this year.

Now her mother Sharon Holland, 50, from Portsmouth, is speaking out to raise awareness about domestic violence.

She criticized the length of Masterton’s sentence as she spoke about how his horrific actions affected her daughter.

“No amount of time in jail will bring my daughter back,” the mother of four said.

“But less than five years for contributing to her death is just not fair.”

Before meeting her abuser, Sharon said Chloe was a “ray of sunshine” and was “always smiling.”

Her suspicion that Masterson was abusing her daughter first arose in May 2022, when she introduced him to her mother on the phone one evening.

“He seemed polite enough,” Sharon explained. ‘But after chatting for a while, Chloe screamed that Marc had punched her and the line went dead.

‘I was worried about her, so the next day I texted her and asked if she was okay.

“She said they had too much to drink and were just messing around.”

Sharon messaged Chloe every day to check on her, but didn’t even know where her daughter lived so she couldn’t visit.

“One day in July, Chloe texted to say Marc had hit her and she had a black eye,” she revealed.

‘She told me she had gone to the police and made a statement. But a week later, when I asked Chloe if she’d heard from them, she just ignored my question.”

Days later, Sharon was unable to reach Chloe for a week. She had texted Masterton to ask if he had heard from her, but he said he had not.

When Sharon told him she was reporting her daughter missing, Chloe messaged her mother to say she was fine and that her phone was broken.

“I was really worried, but I had to believe she was telling the truth,” the heartbroken mother explained.

‘Later that month, Chloe moved to a hostel, away from Marc, and got help. She was doing very well and seemed happy when I saw her.’

Tragically, Masterton discovered where Chloe was living in November and – unbeknownst to Sharon – had ended up back in her life.

Every time she saw Chloe, her daughter – who had told Sharon it was over between her and Masterson – looked ‘vulnerable and exhausted’.

The following month, the shocked mum received a photo of Chloe showing her with a black eye. She claimed she bumped into Masterton and he hit her.

“I told her she had to get away from him,” Sharon said.

In February this year, a friend messaged Sharon to tell Sharon that Chloe had streamed live on Facebook that she was going to kill herself.

In a panic, the mother called the police, who found her daughter in the woods and took her home.

But later that evening she had discovered that her daughter had hanged herself and was being taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital under a blue light.

“Besides myself, I rushed to the hospital,” Sharon said. ‘When I saw Chloe hanging from machines I broke down.

“She didn’t even look like her. I spoke to a doctor who explained that her chances of survival were slim.’

She was ‘relieved and proud’ to hear Chloe had reported Masterton’s abuse and completed a video interview before her death – but ‘so angry that he had caused this’.

A month later, Chloe was transferred to palliative care, where she spent her 23rd birthday.

She sadly passed away five days later with Sharon by her side.

“I was in pieces,” her mother revealed. “It didn’t feel real.”

Sharon held a funeral to celebrate Chloe’s life and placed her ashes in three teddy bears.

She also had some of her daughter’s tissue donated and says it ‘feels’ wonderful to know that she will live on in other people’.

In August, Masterton pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behavior at Portsmouth Crown Court. Last week he was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

The court heard Masterton regularly belittled Chloe and abused her in hotels, hostels and on public transport.

The physical and psychological impact of the abuse contributed significantly to the demise of her mental health.

Sharon revealed she watched Chloe’s video interview before Masterton’s sentencing and ‘never imagined the extent of the abuse’.

“I am forever scarred knowing what he did to her,” she said.

“I am now working with other families, including Kellie Sutton’s, to change the law on unlawful killings.

“Only then can I finally grieve.”

Sharon has also set up a Facebook group, Coercive and Controlling Behavior Contributing to Suicide, to help other families.

“To all families who suspect a loved one is suffering: be there for them and be patient,” she advised.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see samaritans.org for details