A “paranoid” man who locked his partner and mum in his home and threatened to slit their throats if they called the police has been jailed.
Neil Cook believed his partner was cheating on him so refused to let the pair leave their Fraserburgh home until she admitted the infidelity.
During the ordeal, which lasted for hours, Cook, 27, assaulted both women by kicking, punching and slapping them, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
A Crown narrative of events, which was read to the court, said the incident happened on August 15, following a family day out in New Deer.
They had all returned to Cook’s home in Watermill Road and it was then that his anger erupted.
“The accused then started shouting and swearing about not allowing anyone to leave the living room,” the narrative said.
“He was calling the complainer a “f****** slut’ and a ‘whore’ . She was trying to calm him down but was unable to.
“He wanted her to admit that she had cheated on him and when she would not do this, he started punching her on the head and kicking her on the body, making contact with her legs.
“He pulled her hair and poured a can of cola over her head. He also spat in her face.”
Threatened to ‘slit throats’
The court heard that when Cook’s mum tried to intervene she herself was slapped on the face and pinned to a wall.
Cook’s partner meanwhile ran toward the back door in an attempt to escape.
“He chased her, grabbed her by the arms and dragged her back into the house and then pinned her to the sofa,” the narrative continued.
“She reported that this went on for hours and, throughout, the accused repeatedly threatened the complainers that if they phoned the police, he would slit their throats.
“The complainers were terrified of what he might do and believed the threats.”
Jumped from window as police came
When his mum managed to contact someone for help, police were called.
When they arrived they found Cook had fled and the women were “outside in a state of distress”.
Cook phoned his mum and asked why she’d called the police before telling her he’d jumped from the house via a window, the court heard.
Later, at Fraserburgh police station, Cook’s partner showed officers multiple bruises and abrasions on her face and body, all of which were photographed and shown to the sheriff.
Cook admitted one domestic abduction and assault to injury charge and another charge of abduction and assault.
He also admitted one breach of bail offence relating to the sending of more than 175 messages to his then partner when he wasn’t allowed to contact her.
He poses ‘serious harm’ to the public
His defence agent Marianne Milligan told the court her client said he’d been “losing the plot” at the time.
“He had been working a lot,” she said. “He came home, he found out his partner had been cheating on him. He became paranoid.”
She said he was “remorseful” and knows it “should never have happened”.
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Cook, a prisoner at HMP Grampian, that he still posed a risk of “serious harm” to the public and handed him a 24-month jail term, backdated to his remand date of September last year.
He also made Cook subject to a 12-month supervised release order and put in place a five-year non-harassment order in respect of both his ex and his mum.
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