A Buckie woman has admitted assaulting her ex-partner with a wooden brush, but claimed she was assaulted first, a court has heard.
Kerry Smith, 42, attacked the man in a house on the town’s Gordon Street on August 3, this year.
Smith appeared in Elgin’s Sheriff Court admitting to pushing him, striking him and attempting to grab his mobile phone.
Smith also admitted “repeatedly” hitting him on the head with a wooden brush, tripping him up and causing him to fall to the ground – all to his injury.
The day after this attack, Smith also assaulted a police constable at the same Buckie address, by biting her on the hand.
Couple’s night out ended in violence
Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph told the court that the then-couple had been on a night out and had arranged for a babysitter for their two children.
Mrs Ralph said they had gone to some local bars and during the evening had phoned the babysitter to ask her to stay on longer.
However, the evening was “tense”, Mrs Ralph told the court, and when they returned to their home address Smith appeared “drunk and agitated”.
The babysitter took the children upstairs to a bedroom and said she was aware the couple were arguing about another female and, after hearing what sounded like Smith “falling down the stairs”, decided to phone 999.
Smith then began hitting her partner about the head with a wooden brush, the court was told.
When the police arrived, Smith told them she had “been assaulted first” and refused to go with them.
Bit police officer’s hand
“She made herself a dead weight and bit the right hand of the police officer, but did not pierce the skin,” Mrs Ralph said.
Smith, of Craigbo Terrace in Buckie, also admitted breaching a non-harassment order by contacting her ex on August 4, 2023.
A further charge of wilfully or recklessly destroying her ex-partner’s mobile phone by striking it against a wall was dropped.
Smith’s defence agent Grant Daglish said his client was now single and said her memory of the night was “hazy”.
He said she was apologetic and added: “She spent the weekend in the cells – which was a wakeup call for her.
“I don’t want to read them out in court, but there were some difficult emotional tensions at the time.”
Sheriff David Harvie ordered Smith to be of good behaviour for six months and kept the non-harassment order in place.
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