A man has been given unpaid work after choking his wife with a stick as she lay in bed.
The terrified woman feared for her life as David Coburn straddled her and applied pressure to the stick across her neck, causing her to struggle to breathe.
The furious 66-year-old lost his cool because his wife had asked him to sleep in another room following a row, and shouted: “How dare you tell me to go somewhere else?”
Fiscal depute Felicity Merson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the couple, who had been married for 12 years, had been drinking champagne and socialising with the woman’s son from a previous relationship and his female friend in a hot tub at Beechgrove in Udny on June 12.
She said: “At 7pm the complainer’s son arrived with a female friend. Everyone went to the garden to drink wine and champagne and use the new hot tub.
“During the evening the complainer became upset that the accused was speaking to her son’s friend about her fitness regime. She felt as though the accused had not paid any attention to her own exercise efforts.
“There was no argument about this but the complainer raised it with the accused later.
“The complainer retired to bed and told the accused it would be best if he slept elsewhere for the night, meaning a different room. However, both ended up lying down in the same bed together.
“The accused suddenly got out of bed, turned the hallway light on, returned to bed and flipped the complainer from her side onto her back. He climbed on top of her, straddling her. He had what she thought was a metal pole.
“The accused placed the item across his wife’s throat. He pushed down hard to the point where the complainer felt she couldn’t breathe.
“This lasted a couple of minutes. She did not lose consciousness but feared for her life.
“She was unable to move due to the accused being on top of her.
“The accused removed the item from her neck and shouted ‘how dare you tell me to go somewhere else?’.
“He then brought the item back down towards her neck, making contact with her jaw and chin.”
This lasted around a minute with the woman again struggling to breathe. And Coburn then did the same thing for a third time.
Mrs Merson said: “The complainer felt extremely scared and worried that she was going to die.”
Coburn then eventually lifted the item and climbed off her.
The woman shouted “you’re trying to kill me” before phoning 999.
Coburn replied: “You’ve pushed me beyond my limit.”
His wife then waited outside the property for police to arrive. Officers arrived around midnight and found her visibly upset, crying and shaking, with bruising already forming on her neck.
Mrs Merson said Coburn told police: “I did lose my temper, I did have her by the throat as I didn’t like she was telling me what to do. I just wanted to make my point not to tell me what to do.”
He added that he had used a piece of wood rather than a metal pole, but officers could not locate the item.
Coburn, whose address was given in court papers as Broomieknowe Gardens, Bonnyrigg, pled guilty to a charge of assault to injury over the incident.
Defence counsel Gareth Jones said his client had no previous convictions and was suffering from undiagnosed mental health issues at the time of the incident.
He described the relationship as a “largely happy marriage” with no similar incidents.
The pair have now separated and divorce proceedings have begun.
Mr Jones said: “Since the time of this incident Mr Coburn has reflected deeply on his actions and has expressed, and continues to do so, a resounding level of remorse for what he did.”
He added the offence was “totally out of character” and that Coburn had felt “shame” and “guilt” for his actions.
Sheriff William Summers told Coburn: “You appear before the court at the age of 66 with no previous convictions.
“It’s clear this offence was out of character and there’s unlikely to be any repetition.
“There were clearly underlying mental health issues that played a part in the commission of the offence. It’s clear you are genuinely remorseful for your behaviour.”
He handed Coburn 140 hours of unpaid work and an 18-month supervision order.
He also imposed a three-year non-harrassment order.
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