Woman reveals moment ex-boyfriend pushed her and left her paralysed

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By JESSICA GREEN, ASSISTANT LIFESTYLE EDITOR Updated: 12:57 13 Oct 2026

A woman who was left paralysed when her ex-boyfriend pushed her over a banister because she refused to give him a New Year’s kiss has opened up about the terrifying ordeal.

Janine Kazmi, 38, was subjected to months of ‘controlling and violent behaviour’ from Barry Shankly, 45, before breaking her spine when he shoved her over a banister at his home in Glasgow, Scotland.

Shankly tried to cover up his sickening actions with lies by telling Ms Kazmi she fell by accident after she woke up in hospital with temporary memory loss. She eventually remembered what truly happened and reported Shankly to the police.

He was found guilty of engaging in a course of conduct which was abusive of his partner or ex-partner at Glasgow High Court in July 2024 and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Ms Kazmi, a peer support worker, has now opened up about the terrifying moment to Stacey Dooley in the new BBC documentary, Fallen Women, which sees the presenter investigate the deaths of women who have fallen from heights.

In tonight’s episode, which airs at 9pm on BBC Three and 10.40pm on BBC One, Ms Kazmi recalls visiting her ex at his home on New Year’s Eve in 2020 after he claimed he ‘wanted to commit suicide’.

She tells Stacey: ‘I went upstairs, I went to the loo, and I came out and he was there… Rang the bells in and said “go on, give us a kiss”.’

‘No I don’t want to, we’re not like that anymore’, Ms Kazmi replied, adding: ‘I’m only here because you said you wanted to commit suicide, but ironically you don’t seem like you want to.

‘And he said “Because you’re here, of course I don’t want to now.”‘ But then, Ms Kazmi went to go past her ex and he pushed her ‘hard’. ‘I flipped over the banister and I fell’, she recalls.

Ms Kazmi previously said: ‘I’ll never walk again and I’m not able to have kids due to my injury. Not only did he take away my life, but he stopped another one happening.

‘I never imagined my life this way, but you’ve got to put in the work – mentally and physically.’

Ms Kazmi met Shankly on a dating site in October 2016, while she was living and working in Thailand.

The pair began a long-distance relationship, until Shankly invited Ms Kazmi to move into his flat in Glasgow, Scotland, in September 2019. But she began experiencing increasing ‘controlling’ behaviour from Shankly.

Ms Kazmi said he would check her phone and lock her in the flat, and she also wasn’t allowed any friends. During a holiday to Lisbon, Portugal, in January 2020, Shankly ‘stamped on her mobile’ and ‘pushed’ her over – causing her to fall and hit her head.

In October 2020, Ms Kazmi decided to end things and claims she ‘reluctantly’ remained friends with Shankly.

Two months later, he invited her to spend New Year’s Eve with him and attempted to kiss her on the stairs of his house as she left.

She said: ‘I didn’t really want to be friends, but it was easier than dealing with him unhappy. That night, I told him our relationship wasn’t like that anymore and he pushed me.

‘On impact, apparently, I was coherent – it must have been the shock and adrenaline. But I lost consciousness and woke up in hospital with no memory of the fall.’

Ms Kazmi was admitted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary and underwent surgery on her spine on January 6, 2021.

She was dealt another blow when doctors told her she had fractured her spine between the 23rd and 25th vertebrae and would be left paraplegic.

Shankly visited her in hospital and ‘fed’ her ‘lies’ about the fall. But Ms Kazmi began to regain her memory of the night and gave a statement to the police.

She was eventually transferred to The London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, Stanmore, London, for rehabilitation.

Shankly was arrested and pleaded not guilty to engaging in a course of conduct which was abusive of his partner or ex-partner between September 2019 and May 2021.

The case went to High Court, Glasgow, in July 2024 and Janine joined via video link from Southend Court, Basildon, London, to give her evidence.

Shankly was found guilty of the charges and jailed for a 14-year extended sentence with 13 years being spent behind bars.

Ms Kazmi is now hoping to help other survivors of domestic abuse by encouraging people to ‘speak out’.

Stacey Dooley: Fallen Women, Tuesday 13 October at 9pm on BBC Three, 10.40pm on BBC One and from 6.00am on iPlayer

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