Kate met her boyfriend (Daniel) on Facebook. The two first met in person in Reading where Piper had been working. Two weeks into their relationship, the couple booked into a hotel. In the hotel room, Daniel raped and beat Katie and stabbed her several times in the arms. After eight hours at the hotel, they drove back to Katie's flat. She was treated for her wounds at Royal Free Hospital, but withheld the nature of the incident from the doctors and police. Katie received phone calls and apologies from Daniel. Two days after the attack, Daniel persuaded Katie to go to an internet cafe to read an email. Daniel gave her details to a friend Stefan Sylvestre. Wearing a hoodie to obscure his identity, Sylvestre approached Katie and then threw sulphuric acid at her face.