A man who “stalked” his former partner before assaulting her in her own home has been jailed.
Lewis McRitchie (48), of Glenogil Street, Montrose, admitted an indictment alleging he entered his former partner’s house in the town on May 9, repeatedly punched her face, head and body, kneed her to the head and kicked her body, all to her injury.
On Tuesday Arbroath Sheriff Court heard the pair had been in a relationship for between 10 to 13 years prior to the incident.
Depute fiscal Hazel Anderson said, “The complainer said that prior to the assault the accused had been effectively stalking her, bombarding her with phone calls and flowers.
“He had repeatedly called her at work and she had told him on a number of occasions that she wasn’t interested.”
On the day of the attack the woman left work early, fearing McRitchie would be waiting outside for her.
She was at home with her 24-year-old daughter when she saw the accused had appeared outside the house.
Mrs Anderson said, “They ignored him, hoping he would just go away, but he entered the house and asked ‘Are you scared of me?'”
McRitchie then punched his ex-partner with enough force to break her dentures and send her tumbling onto the coffee table.
He then swung his knee into her head near her left eye and threw her back down onto the table before punching her body and shouting, “I will kill you.”
The woman’s daughter heard the commotion and managed to force McRitchie out of the house.
After being examined by doctors it was found serious bruising had been sustained to the victim’s face and her finger had been broken as a result of attempting to deflect some of the blows.
McRitchie’s defence agent Billy Rennie said his client claimed he had been angered by the fact he had paid for his former partner to go on holiday to Turkey, where he believed she had begun a relationship with another person.
Sheriff Derek Pyle said, “This was a very serious and unprovoked attack on a defenceless woman and in my view custody is the only option available.”
McRitchie was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.