A man who gained online fame over a social media post about a dress that some people saw as black and blue and others said was white and gold, has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for domestic abuse.
Keir Johnston, who was accused of assaulting his wife, Grace, during years of abuse, was found to have pinned her to the ground and choked her during an argument at their home on Colonsay, an island in the Inner Hebrides, in March 2022.
The high court in Glasgow heard that Johnston only released her from his grip when a witness intervened, and that he then struggled with Grace a second time before brandishing a knife and shouting: “Somebody is going to die”.
The couple and Grace’s mother, Cecilia Bleasdale, became famous in 2015 for the picture of the dress the latter wore to their wedding. It was said to have “broken the internet” when millions viewed it.
The court heard the couple had had a “volatile” relationship and that Johnston became enraged with his wife at their home during an argument, tackled her to the ground and strangled her using both hands.
He was said to have maintained pressure on her neck until the witness rushed at him and broke up the struggle. Johnston uttered a threat to “finish her off”, struggled with her again, brandished a knife and – as well as threatening others – tried to harm himself, the court heard.
Johnston pleaded guilty last month to assaulting his wife and endangering her life.
The judge, Lady Drummond, concluded that the only “appropriate” sentence would be jail.
Speaking of Grace Johnston’s ordeal, Drummond said: “She feared for her life. The strangling lasted 20 seconds.”
Referring to the victim impact assessment, the judge said Grace Johnston had reported feeling the incident had impacted her so severely that the memory of it would affect her “forever”. Drummond told Keir Johnston: “She cannot understand your lack of remorse.”
She imposed a custodial sentence of 54 months, reduced from 60 months to take account of Johnston’s early guilty plea. His sentence will be backdated to 9 May this year; when he was first taken into custody. Drummond also imposed a non-harassment order banning Johnston from contacting or approaching his wife for 10 years.
