STALKER EX HAS RUINED MY LIFE
Jealous brute bombarded woman with vile messages – and threatened to stab her new partner in the neck
A twisted bully who terrorised his ex- partner in a stalking campaign and threatened to stab her boyfriend has been locked up. Scott McKinney, 33, hounded his ex Danielle Leitch with abusive rants via text, phone calls and social media posts, which left her scared and frightened.
Jealous McKinney, who has a child with Ms Leitch, showed up at her home in Paisley’s Gallowhill uninvited, shouted, swore and banged on her window after she started seeing another man.
The town’s sheriff court heard jealous McKinney also threatened “to plug” her new partner, adding “this lockback is going through his neck”.
Procurator fiscal depute Kara Watt told the court Ms Leitch arranged to go out at New Year in January last year with her new partner and arranged for McKinney to look after the child.
However, he started bombarding her with offensive and threatening messages when he discovered the tot did not have an inhaler packed with its belongings.
Ms Watt said: “He sent message saying the complainer was ‘ wrecked at New Year’s’ and that she ‘didn’t give a f** k’ about the child.
“He said that ‘She should keep her legs shut around the wean’.”
The court heard McKinney sent social media messages to Ms Leitch’s friend, stating: “I am on the verge of plugging c****. I am going to Gallowhill and if I see him (the complainer’s boyfriend) this lockback is going in his neck.”
The prosecutor added McKinney showed up at her home on January 22, last year, where he shouted, swore and banged on her windows, leading to Ms Elliot calling police.
Yesterday, McKinney appeared from custody where he pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in a course of conduct causing fear and alarm to his ex-partner where he repeatedly contacted her by phone, text, social media and letters, and where he shouted, swore, uttered offensive remarks, and demand she provide contact with a child, attend at her home uninvited, where he shouted, swore, struck windows and made offensive remarks between January 1, 2020 and March 6, 2020.
He also admitted writing to her from behind bars, despite being banned from approaching or contacting her and to breaching terms of a Non Harrassment Order (NHO).
Defence agent Paul Coyle insisted his client, who had previously been convicted of assaulting Ms Leitch when he whipped her with a towel and pushed her on a set of stairs, and who is subject to two NHOs protecting her, wanted to “apologise for his conduct”.
He said: “He accepts responsibility for this and clearly he should know he should not have conducted himself in this manner.
“He accepts all the conduct would have caused Ms Leitch fear and alarm and what he did went beyond what was reasonable.”
The court heard from Ms Leitch’s victim impact statement, where she told how badly McKinney affected her.
She told how she still can’t sleep, has lost her appetite and has been living in fear, saying, “The situation is constantly on my mind. The incidents caused me a lot of fear.
“I fear of him turning up at the house. I have to keep my blinds shut.
“I was scared permanently. I have lost a lot of weight. I am still not sleeping.
“He has ruined my life.”
Sheriff Eoin McGinty locked McKinney up for 11 months and warned him if he breaches the terms of the NHO again, he will appear at court where he can be sentenced for up to five years.