A violent boyfriend who was stabbed by his pregnant partner after he tried to throttle her has been jailed for more then two years.
Anthony Muir pinned his ex down on a kitchen table, leaned on her baby bump and asked her: “Do you want to die?”
The remorseless 57-year-old, who dismissed the allegations as “fantasy,” has been locked up for 27 months following a trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
He was described by Sheriff Paul Reid as a “stereotypical” domestic abuser.
Self-employed labourer Muir was found guilty of assaulting his former partner on multiple occasions over a near-nine year period at addresses in Auchtermuchty and Dunfermline.
He was also convicted of assaults on three young children.
Jurors rejected his claims that his ex-partner was lying under oath.
Public appearance
Muir returned to the dock for sentencing as members of his new family, who submitted letters of support appealing for leniency, filled the public gallery.
Sheriff Reid told Muir: “You have been convicted by a jury who returned a verdict which you clearly do not accept.
”This was a prolonged course of domestic abuse.”
He said: “You assaulted your then-partner when she was carrying your child, grabbing her by the throat and restricted her breathing.
“Such was her concern, she attended hospital to have the health of her unborn child checked.
”That was only one of a number of assaults that the jury heard of.”
The sheriff told Muir: “I have considered the moving and heartfelt letters submitted by members of your current family.
”Those suggest you are a different person than the one the jury heard about.”
Fantasy claim
Muir was told he had put his former partner and other victims through the “obviously distressing” ordeal of giving evidence in court.
“You clearly do not accept their evidence,” the sheriff said. “You write it off as a fantasy.
“You accept no responsibility for the offences you have been convicted of and you show no insight into the impact of your offending.
“From what you said to the social worker, you do not seem to believe the offences merit custody.”
Sheriff Reid said prison was “inevitable.”
He said: “One of the most insidious features of domestic abuse such as this is the disconnect between the offender’s private behaviour and their public image, leaving their victims concerned that they will not be believed.
”You are a stereotypical example of such an offender.”
Muir, of Pittmedden Wynd, Auchtermuchty, must stay away from his ex-partner and other victims as part of a two-year non-harassment order.
Partner tells court of stabbing
Defence counsel James McCrone said his client had suffered domestic abuse as a child and urged the sheriff to consider an alternative to prison.
The trial heard how during one assault, Muir grabbed his then-heavily pregnant girlfriend by the throat and pushed her down onto a kitchen worktop.
She told the court: “He was leaning over me, onto my tummy.
”That really upset me.”
The woman said she managed to wriggle out from under him.
She spotted a knife on the drawing board.
She told him: “If you come near me, I’ll stab you with that knife.”
“He laughed at me,” she told the jury.
“I said: ‘I mean it, please don’t come near me.’
”He was saying things that were horrible. My stomach was like a hard ball.”
Muir told her: “You better use it” and added: “Do you want to die?”
The woman admitted she stabbed Muir in the arm as he charged at her.
Jurors heard the assaults took place between May 2001 and December 2009.
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