A Banff hairdresser repeatedly seized a “traumatised” woman by her hair, kicked her body and punched her head during three years of violent attacks, a court was told.
Findlay Ethan Laird, 21, turned on the family who had cared for him since he was 13, inflicting “horrific violence” against them.
Laird – the owner of Azizi Hair Design in Banff – was found guilty of four charges against the Tevendale family, including one of assault to injury, two of assault and threatening and abusive behaviour.
Speaking at the conclusion of the case at Banff Sheriff Court, Jane Tevdendale wept as she described the lasting trauma that she and her family still endure.
All the attacks happened between January 2017 and July 2020 when Laird was a teenager.
In one act of aggression, Laird brandished a knife at Jane, 55, who said she stood in front of her 21-year-old daughter Jessie to protect her.
‘The more I cried the more he would hit me’
On another occasion, Laird pushed Jane, causing her to strike her head on a door and fall to the ground.
He also seized her by the hair and threw a bottle at her head.
Jane said: “There was horrific violence. He grabbed me by my hair and trailed me across the floor, kicking me and thumping my head.
“I had bald patches on my head. It was just horrendous abuse. I just wanted him to give me the final punch so I wouldn’t be here anymore. I felt trapped.
“I wasn’t allowed to cry. The more I cried when he was hitting me, the more he would hit me.
“I used to be happy-go-lucky. Now, I’m so traumatised.”
Jane’s daughter Jessie was also victimised by Laird.
She had her hair pulled, was forced to the ground and struck on her head and body.
Jessie said: “I just wanted to get away from the scary situation. I felt really trapped and petrified because he was really violent and to not be able to escape was really scary.
“It was like walking on eggshells every day, wondering what kind of mood he would wake up in.
“When I was at college, I wondered, will my mom still be there when I get back home?”
‘Horrible having him in my home’
Jessie’s dad Roderick, who was also on the receiving end of violence, said it was “difficult” living with Laird.
He said: “It was horrible having him in my home. I feel disappointed because we tried doing everything for him, gave him everything and was good to him”.
The Crown accepted Laird’s not guilty pleas for three charges, including alleged threatening and abusive behaviour at the Simply Vintage shop in Banff and on the A97 Aberchirder to Banff Road.
‘Disappointing you’re not taking responsibility’
Sheriff Robert McDonald told Laird: “It’s disappointing that you’re not taking responsibility for your actions.
“You are a young man. These things happened when you were even younger.”
The sheriff gave Laird, of Buchan Street in Macduff, a community payback order with one year of supervision and 120 hours of unpaid work.
But Jane Tevendale told the Press and Journal that she felt “let down” by the punishment.
She said: “I thought that the justice system took domestic violence and abuse against women seriously and I think that they’ve let me and my daughter and husband down.
“I’ve lost my freedom because I’m too scared to go out by myself. He’s lost nothing.”
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