A domestic abuse trial was dramatically interrupted by an outburst from the man in the dock accused of attacking former partners, two of whom were pregnant.
Company director 25-year-old Alicia Socas was giving evidence in the trial of Rory MacMillan, 36, when he jumped up and shouted: “You are lying under oath.”
The jury of ten women and five men retired and MacMillan was taken away by his defence counsel Bill Adam.
When they returned, Mr Adam said he had spoken “in robust terms” to his client who “profusely apologises to the court and says it won’t happen again”.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald warned MacMillan that he had to “sit quietly and not interrupt witnesses again”.
Mr Adam added that he had told his client that the trial could “continue in his absence” if he did not.
MacMillan, of Balloan Road, Inverness, denies five charges of assaulting four different women to their injury, including permanently disfiguring one.
The allegations include trying to smother his pregnant partner with a pillow and repeatedly striking her with a stick or similar instrument.
Another former partner, Hollie Cole, accuses him of dragging her by the hair and repeatedly shouting and swearing at her and uttering threats of violence.
He also pleads not guilty to throwing a dog against a wall, stalking one ex-partner, behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards another, and failing to turn up for a court hearing.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between August 2004 and June 2013.
Lindsay Court, a 31 year old supermarket team leader told Inverness Sheriff Court that she was in a relationship with MacMillan when she was 18.
She said: “We were staying with his mum and he cracked my head open in an argument over something stupid – over a piece of toast I think.
“The back of my head was bleeding. He hit me several times with his fist. I was scared and left the house with our Boxer puppy.
“I took it with me because a few days earlier he had thrown it against a wall as it had wet the carpet. Then when we moved to Rafford, he punched me on the mouth and split my lip.”
Ms Socas told the jury about several instances involving her friend, Hollie Cole, including one occasion when she saw Hollie with a black eye when she was heavily pregnant.
Later, Ms Socas recalled a third incident when MacMillan again turned up at Hollie’s door and was banging on it.
“But it all calmed down.” She said before MacMillan shouted at her saying that she was lying.
The trial continues.
