A bride involved in a violent rammy at her wedding reception claimed her mum told her she was having a “fantasy relationship” with her new husband.
Claire Goodbrand’s lawyer also told a court that her mother’s boyfriend had been “ sexually inappropriate towards her”.
The extraordinary claims came as Claire Goodbrand, 26, her husband Eamonn and their best man Kieran – Eamonn’s younger brother – appeared for sentence on assault charges at Livingston Sheriff Court on Friday.
The mum of four earlier admitted battering her mother Cherry-Ann Lindsay on the head with a stiletto shoe after the wedding reception at The Vu in the Bathgate Hills turned into a war zone.
Eamonn, 33, and Kieran, 36, both admitted assaulting Ms Lindsay’s boyfriend David Boyd to his severe injury, biting his finger and his ear and gouging his eyes.
Kieran also pled guilty to a second charge of punching and kicking DJ Garry Brown to the head and body to his injury as the wedding reception reached a riotous end in the early hours of 24 June 2019.
Lawyers for each of the Goodbrands blamed the behaviour of Ms Lindsay and Mr Boyd for sparking fracas.
Depute fiscal Louise Alexander said Mr Boyd and his partner had been in a taxi waiting to leave after the reception ended when he got out and walked back towards the venue.
As he returned a few minutes later, she said, he was attacked from behind and repeatedly punched and kicked on the head and body by Kieran and Eamonn Goodbrand.
“Kieran Goodbrand is then described as getting on top of Mr Boyd, who still had a glass bottle in his hand.
“During the course of the attack he used the bottle he was carrying to strike Kieran Goodbrand on the head to defend himself.
“Mr Boyd then saw Eamonn Goodbrand get on top of him and push both thumbs into his eyes before biting his right ear.
“He then felt Eamonn Goodbrand bite the middle finger of his right hand, leaving him with what’s described as a bad cut.”
Miss Alexander said Cherry-Ann Lindsay got out of the taxi and saw her partner lying on the ground with the Goodbrand brothers kicking and punching him.
She went on: “At this point Claire Goodbrand then grabbed Cherry-Ann Lindsay by the hair and repeatedly punched and kicked her causing her to fall backwards onto the ground striking her head on the concrete.
“During the course of this Cherry-Ann Lindsay’s shoe came off which she used to try and fend off Claire Goodbrand.
“Claire Goodbrand has then picked up her shoe and hit her in the front of her face with it.
“The parties briefly separated before Claire Goodbrand put her arm around her mother’s throat and tried to choke her while she was pulling her hair out with her other hand.”
She said the Goodbrand brothers both punched and kicked DJ Garry Brown when he tried to break up the fighting.
Luke O’Curry, defending Claire Goodbrand, said she had expressed “remorse and regret” that things had got so out of hand at her wedding.
He said that when her mother had got out of the taxi to join the fracas his client had warned her: “Leave it, leave it, leave it!”
He went on: “Her mother made the suggestion to her about a fantasy infidelity between her mother and Mrs Goodbrand’s new husband and Mrs Goodbrand became physical and struck her mother and put her to the ground.
“It’s quite clear from the CCTV that Claire Goodbrand is pointing at her mother saying ‘Do not get back up’ but her mother does get back up and her shoe comes off.
“The mother then uses her shoe to strike her on the head and Claire Goodbrand takes that same shoe off her and strikes her back.
“There can’t be many brides who wish to exchange a holiday in Mexico for an appearance in the dock in blood-streaked hair and her wedding outfit after two days in custody.”
Mr O’Curry said: “She (Cherry-Ann Lindsay) attended the wedding with Mr Boyd who Mrs Goodbrand had never got on with. She found he was sexually inappropriate towards her and inappropriate towards others but she held her tongue.”
“She attended her wedding. It should have been the best day of her life.
"It was certainly the most memorable day of her life... for all the wrong reasons.”
Jim O’Dowd, representing Eamonn Goodbrand, said David Boyd’s behaviour at the wedding had “caused significant difficulties for all involved”.
He alleged that Mr Boyd had been “offering cocaine” and winding his client up by making comments about his brother who died in 2003.
He said: “He managed to keep things together during the wedding but at some point Mr Boyd left the vehicle, had a confrontation with Kieran Goodbrand and hit Kieran over the head with a bottle. A fight followed.
“He’s absolutely mortified by having this whole thing happen. He’s more than mortified, he totally regrets that this happened and he wishes he’d walked away from this.”
Gavin Lawson, for Kieran Goodbrand, said his client had been diagnosed with PTSD after being attacked in his home and didn’t go to pubs or parties, preferring to socialise with his family.
He described the assaults as “impulsive acts driven by fear and alcohol” and said Goodbrand expressed remorse and an awareness of the impact his behaviour had had.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Jane Farquharson told the accused the wedding day had been “emotionally charged” and said she accepted that there had been significant family tensions in the build-up to their big day.
She said that alcohol had clouded the judgement of the Goodbrand brothers and loosened their inhibitions leading to unacceptable acts of violence against others.
She told the trio: “You all have to live with the consequences of your actions and the shame and embarrassment which will forever taint what should have been the happiest family day.”
She ordered Claire Goodbrand to pay £1,000 compensation to her mother by fortnightly instalments of £20.
Eamonn Goodbrand was placed under social work supervision for nine months and ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.
Kieran Goodbrand was handed 200 hours of unpaid work for the assault on David Boyd and ordered to pay £1000 compensation to Garry Brown.
Claire and Eamonn declined to comment as they left court together.
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