A prisoner bombarded his wife in Fife with 1,382 phone calls from behind bars, including making threats to kill her, during a six-month period of domestic abuse.
James Finn, 38, threatened to go on hunger strike unless his wife answered his calls.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Finn was serving a sentence from January 2023 and his then-wife spoke to him by phone and visited him.
Prosecutor Sarah Smith said the couple argued over the phone in early July 2024 and when he called her back, he made threats to “kill” and “destroy” her.
The woman reported this to police and further told them he had asked her not to speak to certain acquaintances and said he would go to one man’s workplace and kill him.
Police discovered that between July 1 and July 18 last year Finn had made 586 phone calls to the woman, some of a threatening nature.
The fiscal said if the woman failed to answer first time, Finn would leave numerous messages and constantly accuse her of drinking and cheating on him.
He would often threaten to kill himself or end their relationship.
Ms Smith continued: “He also threatened to go on hunger strike unless (the woman) answered the phone to him or stopped drinking”.
Finn told her he would be “recovering… phone call data” on his release to check who she had been in touch with.
Nearly 800 more calls
Finn was released from prison in the week beginning November 4 last year and two days later was issued with a non-harassment order.
However, she had gone to his home in Ballingry every day and they would drink together.
The woman told police she knew she was not meant to go near Finn but had to see him to clarify if he had changed.
On one occasion he punched a wall and on another, a neighbour heard him shouting at the woman about speaking to other men.
Finn was arrested on November 11 and remanded but about six days later, the woman received a letter from him instructing her to get a new SIM card for her mobile and to send him the new number using an alias.
He also pleaded with her to send him some of her weekly disability payment.
She sent him the new phone number and was bombarded with calls and voicemails.
Early this year, the woman emailed Perth Prison advising of her intention to seek a divorce.
The fiscal depute said Finn called her 796 times between November 18 last year and January 16.
Sentencing deferred
Finn appeared from custody to plead guilty to engaging in a course of abusive behaviour between July 1 last year and January 16 this year at HMP Perth and an address in Ballingry.
He also admitted breaching a non-harassment order, made on November 6 last year, by contacting her on various occasions until February 6 this year.
Defence lawyer David Cranston said the couple divorced in March.
The solicitor said Finn has not been a regular offender until substantial criminality in 2022 in relation to the same woman.
Sheriff Steven Borthwick deferred sentencing to June 17 to obtain background reports and Finn will remain in custody.
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