A young woman fled her home after claiming a housemate attacked her and her girlfriend in a city centre flat.
Rachel (not her real name) believes the assault was motivated by homophobia. She spoke out as a series of homophobic and transphobic attacks rocked the city.
Merseyside Police said they arrested a 27-year-old woman on suspicion of Section 47 assault and criminal damage on May 26 - but on June 2 decided to take no further action due to what they said was insufficient evidence.
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The incident was not initially reported as a hate incident, but has been this week after police were contacted by the ECHO and said the "circumstances and allegations" were now clear
The 25-year-old, who is originally from the south of England, told the ECHO how she felt the relationship with her housemate turned sour a week before.
She said: "When she met my girlfriend, she was friendly towards her.
"And then when I came into the [kitchen] and said, ‘Oh, I see you've met my girlfriend’, her face just dropped and she just stopped the conversation there and then and walked out of the room."
She continued: “It just sort of clicked that I've not said anything rude here. I've not offended her. I've not even really been talking about myself or sharing my opinions. All I said is ‘this is my girlfriend'."
Rachel said tensions rose in the following week as the pair stopped greeting each other when they passed in the hall.
She claimed things boiled over one afternoon as Rachel and Sarah lay on the bed after returning from a day out in Manchester.
Rachel told the ECHO : "[The housemate] was smacking my door, kicking the door, screaming and, honestly, I have never seen anyone get that angry before. It was really bizarre".
She said her flatmate was saying, "you're dirty, you're dirty", as she and Sarah opened the bedroom door to ask what her problem was.
The flatmate mentioned a dirty bowl left by the sink that morning. Rachel said: “She was going off, 'Honestly, just the pair of you dirty, dirty'.
"And I was like, 'Is this about the house? Or is it because of me and her being together?' And she didn't answer and she just walked away when I said that."
The two young women went back inside the room, only for the housemate to return again, banging and screaming at the door with a freshly made cup of coffee, according to Rachel.
Rachel said that when they opened the door, the flatmate threw coffee into Sarah’s face.
She told the ECHO: "So [Sarah] screams, and I don’t know whether [Sarah’s] scream set her off even more.
"She lunged for [Sarah], ripped my t-shirt, pushed me out of the way.”
Rachel said she and Sarah ran back into the bedroom, shaking, and locked the door before calling the police.
Rachel said: "I was genuinely really scared at that point."
When police arrived, they interviewed Rachel and Sarah, and arrested the housemate.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the ECHO : "We can confirm that officers attended a residential address on Wednesday, 26 May.
"At around 5.45pm we received a report that two women in their 20s had been assaulted by their flatmate following an argument about housekeeping. It was reported to officers that the flatmate had thrown coffee at one of the women during the incident, damaging her mobile phone in the process.
"A further allegation was made that sexual orientation may have been a motivating factor in the assault, and as such it was recorded as a hate incident."
Rachel said the police asked her at the time whether she thought the attack was homophobically motivated. She said yes, but that no specific homophobic words were used.
A Merseyside Police spokesperson this week confirmed to the ECHO that "It was recorded as a hate crime this week, when the circumstances and allegations were clear."
According to Citizens Advice, something is a hate incident if the victim, or anyone else, believes it was motivated by sexual orientation, transgender identity, race, religion or disability.
Their website states : "This means that if you believe something is a hate incident it should be recorded as such by the person you are reporting it to. All police forces record hate incidents based on these five personal characteristics."
In a statement, the force said: "Since the incident, police have visited the victim to offer reassurance and they have received additional support from our Hate Crime Coordinator."
Rachel left the flat on the night of the attack, seeking refuge in her girlfriend’s house.
Rachel’s flatmate was released under investigation on the day of the attacks after being interviewed by detectives. Merseyside Police decided to take no further action on June 2.
A spokesperson for the force said: "Due to the nature of the incident and the fact it took place in a communal building, a forensic examination of the scene was not appropriate in this case, although photographs of the scene and witness statements were taken.
"The arrested woman was not charged due to there being insufficient evidence: no independent witnesses, no CCTV, and no forensic evidence."
