An abusive Fife boyfriend who told one of his victims he was “boiling the kettle for her”, before threateningly putting sugar in it, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Darren Taylor inferred he would pour the contents of the kettle over the woman after she told him she wanted to end their relationship.
Known as ‘prison Napalm‘ because of inmates’ use of it as a weapon, a boiling water/ sugar solution is known to burn deeper than water alone.
On another occasion during a year-long campaign of abuse Taylor choked the woman by grabbing her neck and lifting her off the ground.
He targeted another ex-partner over a period spanning 21 months.
In both cases he assaulted the women and accused them of cheating.
‘You are a domestic abuser’
Taylor, 26, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court by video link from Perth Prison, after earlier pleading guilty to five offences.
Sheriff Susan Duff told him: “Over a three-year period you subjected two women with whom you were in intimate relationships, to appalling violent behaviour.
“You are a domestic abuser.
“You present a danger to women who enter relationships with you.”
The sheriff noted while Taylor had pled eventually guilty to the charges, she would not be discounting his sentence as the case went all the way trial in Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, with one of his victims giving evidence.
Sheriff Duff said Taylor then failed to appear and an arrest warrant had to be granted.
She jailed him for 42 months and handed him a one-year supervised release order, with the sentence backdated to January 10 this year.
Taylor has also been banned from contacting the women for three years.
Fife man’s boiling sugar water threat
Between February 2020 and February 2021 at addresses in Dunfermline and Rosyth, Taylor engaged in a course of abusive behaviour against one of his victims.
Prosecutor Lee-Anne Barclay previously told the court he got angry when his partner indicated she wanted to end their relationship.
The fiscal depute said: “He shouted at her that he was boiling the kettle for her and she saw him pour sugar into the kettle, inferring he would pour the contents over her.
“He shouted ‘that’s what happens if you leave’.”
The fiscal said the incident went on for an hour, before he dragged her from the property by her hair and broke her phone and bank card.
On other occasions, he dragged her down a flight of stairs, punched her on the head and choked her by lifting her from the ground by her neck.
The court Taylor admitted stealing money from the woman and when she went to a property in Dunfermline to get it, he punched her on the head.
His victim described the abusive behaviour as “making her life hell”.
Taylor damaged her home by punching and kicking doors and walls, smashing her phones and pouring paint on the floor.
Assaulted second woman
Taylor also pled guilty to three assaults and a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards a second woman.
The offending spanned from March 2018 to November 2019 at addresses in Rosyth, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
In June 2018 he threw a glass bottle towards her, striking her on the leg and threw her clothing onto the street after an argument.
A friend of the woman’s recalled numerous times in 2019 when he phoned his partner to threaten her.
On other occasions he punched through a bedroom door, threw a cup of boiling water at the wall, and flipped over a coffee table.
In March 2018 Taylor grabbed the woman by the hair and pushed her down and in another instance grabbed her by the arm and pushed her out of a flat.
‘Paranoid’
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett said his client – who has previous domestic offence convictions – has struggled with mental health issues and is now on medication for schizophrenia.
Mr Flett said Taylor can see, with hindsight, he was “paranoid and jealous” and had behaved deplorably.
The lawyer said his client has sought help in custody, including attending Cocaine Anonymous and has been identified as suitable for courses to address anger management and reduce risk of reoffending.
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