A hairdresser has been jailed for an “appalling” catalogue of domestic abuse against former girlfriends.
William Hill bombarded exes with chilling texts and phone calls, held one woman captive in his flat and mocked another about the death of her baby.
The 44-year-old ordered the women to cease contact with other men – in the case of one victim, even the joiner who was working on her home.
Hill – who runs his own salon in Arbroath – was convicted in May of 12 mostly domestically-aggravated charges, spanning from 2017 to 2024 at locations in Dundee, Kirriemuir and Kenmay, Aberdeenshire.
He tried to persuade a jury he had done nothing wrong and even attempted to claim he was the victim of a controlling relationship.
After the trial at Perth Sheriff Court, we revealed how Hill was previously jailed for a similar spate of domestic offending against multiple women.
He went on trial in 2015 under the name James Simpson and was found guilty of offending against three women in Dundee, Forfar, Cupar and Airdrie.
Hill, of Brechin Road, Forfar, returned to the dock for sentencing.
Wake up call
Sheriff William Wood told him: “I don’t think anyone at this trial could have been failed to be moved by the evidence from the four women who suffered abuse at your hands.
“Although it wasn’t the worst form of abuse in physical terms, it was manipulative, controlling and it went on for a very long time.
“Only a custodial sentence is going to be appropriate.”
Hill was jailed for 28 months.
He was ordered to stay away from one of his victims, who “suffered a significant amount of trauma”, for 10 years.
Non-harassment orders of five years each were issued for the other three women.
He will be supervised for a year after his release from jail.
The sheriff added: “At the trial, you presented yourself as reasonable but you were anything but – you treated these women appallingly.
“It is hoped you will now wake up and realise this is not the way to conduct your relationships.”
Nightclub assault
The court heard how he made cruel remarks to one ex around the anniversary of the death of her stillborn child.
He told her: “Your DNA was s***.”
In another message, he commented on her children saying: “One dead…one that hates you and scared of you….hahaha munter.”
When asked by prosecutor Duncan MacKenzie if he regretted sending this message, Hill said: “No, because it’s a fact.”
After the relationship ended, Hill bombarded her with often menacing and abusive calls, even threatening to “bomb” her new boyfriend’s parents’ home.
The court also heard how Hill persistently called a previous girlfriend during their relationship in 2017.
He argued with her so much, she became sleep deprived.
She was ordered to cease contact with men and delete her social media posts.
On one occasion, he held the woman prisoner at his then-Dundee home.
He refused to let her leave, blocked her exit and hid the key.
Hill, previously a barber in Hilltown, assaulted the woman and chased her into the female toilets of the city’s Deja Vu nightclub and repeatedly banged on cubicle doors.
Hill attacked a fourth woman at an address in Kirriemuir in February 2024, pushing her against a cupboard before seizing her by the throat and compressing her neck.
Ashamed
Defence advocate Bert Kerrigan KC presented the sheriff with a letter from Hill’s current girlfriend.
“The lady in question says she has not seen Mr Hill act violently or aggressively, or attempt to control her in anyway.
“It shows he is capable of an intimate partnership which is positive, not negative.”
The court heard Hill was a “medium risk” of reoffending.
“He has expressed his sorrow,” Mr Kerrigan said.
“He is ashamed of his behaviour and his actions.”
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