Terrified woman tried to escape via window

Cartland man John Marshall put Laura McWhinnie through a “horrific” ordeal, his lawyer conceded this week.

Marshall, 35, of Moor Road, admitted a charge of abduction and assault to injury when he appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

The attack took place at a house in Lyman Drive, Wishaw, on June 7 last year.

The court heard Marshall grabbed his partner’s phone and the front door key and wouldn’t let her leave, “detaining her against her will”.

He grabbed her as she tried to escape through a window and slapped her, causing her to fall.

Marshall then seized Ms McWhinnie by her clothing, causing her neck to be compressed and restricting her breathing.

She hit her head off the floor when he pulled her down and then he shoved her, causing her head to strike a table. Then he hit her repeatedly on the head.

Marshall also admitted assaulting a police officer who had been called to the scene.

Stephen McQuillan, defending, described his client’s behaviour as “very much out of character”.

It was influenced by the “considerable amount of alcohol and other things” he had taken.

Mr McQuillan told Sheriff Vincent Smith: “He appreciates fully that this was a horrific incident for someone he was supposed to care about.

“He is sorry for what took place.

“I would submit he is not normally a dangerous person and that he could be given an alternative to a custodial sentence.”

Sheriff Smith ordered Marshall to be supervised for 18 months and to do 270 hours of unpaid community work.

He will also be electronically tagged for four months, meaning he can’t leave the house between 7pm and 7am each day.

The sheriff told him: “It’s your lack of record that saves you from a significant prison sentence.”