A woman who was throttled and pinned to the floor during a brutal assault believed her attacker was going to kill her, a jury has heard.
Abusive thug Kristofer Clayton choked his victim, held her to the floor and tore off her underwear during the terrifying attack at a property in Kinross.
The woman – a former partner – managed to get out from under him and ran from the house to the safety of a neighbour.
Clayton, 33, denied the attack, telling police “it’s a lot of rubbish” and claiming they were “both as bad as each other”.
After three days of often harrowing evidence at Perth Sheriff Court, he was found guilty of six charges related to domestic abuse.
Some of the offences related to another woman in his home town of Sauchie, Clackmannanshire.
‘Hit a point of rage like I’d never seen’
Jurors heard Clayton attacked the woman during during a row at a Kinross property.
She said her foot was injured by a door when Clayton barged through it.
“He was very upset. He wasn’t making much sense. He needed help.”
“He started arguing because I asked him to leave. He refused to go.
“We both said hurtful things to each other.
“Then he hit a point of rage like I’d never seen before.
“He grabbed my neck with both hands and started choking me.”
She remembered him applying pressure as he squeezed her throat.
“I could feel myself coughing and choking for air,” she told the jury.
“I honestly thought that was it. I thought he was going to kill me.”
The woman told prosecutor Stephanie Paterson Clayton held her by the throat for about 20 to 30 seconds.
She said there was a visible mark on her neck for days.
She said he pinned her on the floor “by the neck”.
“I lost my balance and I remember he was on all fours on top of me.
“He pulled down my jeans and then he tried to pull down my pants.
“I grabbed them and he ripped them up the side, by force.”
Her torn black underwear was removed from an evidence bag and shown to jurors.
Ran to neighbour’s home
The woman alleged Clayton then sexually assaulted her but this was deleted from the charge by jurors when they delivered their verdict.
She said: “I was panicking. I was frightened and scared. It happened so quickly.”
Following the assault, she said: “I pulled up my jeans and ran out of the house.”
The woman ran to a neighbour, who let her in and called police.
She said: “I was hysterical at that point.”
Jail warning
Clayton was further convicted of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards the woman in Kinross.
The court heard how he would act aggressively towards her, repeatedly send her unwanted text messages and threatened to kill himself.
He repeatedly attended her home uninvited and waited for her if she was not there.
The court also heard how Clayton made up fake accounts to reach his victim on Snapchat and broke bail conditions by attempting to contact her.
Clayton was also found guilty of assaulting another woman at addresses in Sauchie.
On various occasions he injured the woman by grabbing her, pushing her onto a bed and punching the bed right next to her head.
He also made derogatory comments about her physical appearance, called her names, shouted, swore and damaged furniture.
Jurors took five hours to deliver their verdict.
They found an allegation he repeatedly sexually assaulted his first victim while she was sleeping at locations in Sauchie not proven.
First time offender Clayton, of Mansfield Avenue, will be sentenced next month.
Sheriff Grant McCulloch told him: “These remain serious matters and all sentencing options, including custody, remain open to the court.”
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