A court has heard harrowing details of how a domestic abuse victim’s friend raised a 999 alarm after overhearing the terrified woman being throttled hours into Christmas Day in an interrupted mobile phone call.
Arbroath man Kevin McKinlay had flown into a rage when the friend rang up his girlfriend just hours after the mention of their name had triggered an earlier argument.
He straddled the victim and put his hands round her throat, before fleeing the bedroom to be found cowering and heavily under the influence outside by police who arrived on the scene.
McKinlay then breached bail by turning up at the home of his ex in the early hours and tried to get in through a window with a pair of garden shears.
The 36-year-old has now been warned by a sheriff that he will be going to jail if he “darkens the door of the court again.”
Depute fiscal Stewart Duncan told Forfar Sheriff Court McKinlay and his partner had been in an on-off relationship for around two years and last Christmas Eve had been drinking at home from around 5pm.
“Between 8pm and 9pm the accused started arguing with the complainer about a friend he disliked. This went on but his partner then went to bed,” added Mr Duncan.
“Around 1am she was lying in her bed and got a phone call from her friend.
“On realising who she was on the phone to, the accused straddled her and put his hands on her throat,” the fiscal continued.
“The friend overheard this and called police. They arrived soon after and the accused was found hiding behind a table in the garden, heavily intoxicated.”
Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said: “It was clearly not a great start to the festive celebrations.
“But the parties seem to have made good their differences and want to continue the relationship.
“Mr McKinlay has a pretty significant record, all from while he was a drug addict and he has been working hard to turn that around.”
Sheriff Gregor Murray told the accused: “This is a serious domestic assault and the first thing you have to understand and accept is that having regard to your record, I would be perfectly entitled to send you to jail.
“I am bound to take into account that you have little record of being violent in the past and you have no record of domestic offending.
“With grave hesitation, I am prepared to impose a Community Payback Order.
“Please don’t darken the door of the court in the meantime, otherwise you know exactly what is going to happen,” warned the sheriff.
McKinlay, of Culloden Road, Arbroath, who admitted charges of domestic assault on December 25 at a house in Auchmithie and breaching the peace, whilst on bail, on April 9 this year, was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work.
He must also undertake the Fergus programme for domestic offenders and will be subject to supervision for the two-year duration of the CPO.
