The 38-year-old was arrested in 2022 for a ‘brutal’ assault on his wife.
Keir Johnston, the man behind the 2015 viral picture of a mother-of-the-bride dress, has pleaded guilty to endangering his wife’s life in an attack that left her “fearing for her life”.
Johnston and his wife Grace posted the picture of the dress online after a debate surrounding which colour it was, and this led to a worldwide phenomenon, becoming coined ‘The Dress That Broke the Internet’, with some seeing black and blue while others could swear the dress was white and gold.
Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift all chimed in with their takes, while the photo was tweeted up to 11,000 times a minute.
The couple appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show when the dress went viral on social media, and were awarded a luxury trip to Grenada worth $10,000.-
Yesterday, the Glasgow High Court heard how Mr Johnston pinned her to the ground, using his knees to hold her arms down, and strangled her on March 6th 2022.
The altercation occurred at the married couple’s home on the Isle of Colonsay, in the Inner Hebrides, where Keir Johnston threatened: “Somebody is going to die.”
Grace Johnston begged for help from her friends over text because she believed police would take too long to get to their home on the Isle of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides.
The court heard that Keir Johnston, who was employed as a petrol station attendant, had a history of “domestic abuse” toward his wife including trying to strangle her before the 2022 attack.
The court heard how days before the assault, Grace had gone to the mainland for a job interview – in defiance of her husband’s wishes.
In the hours prior to him turning on his wife, Johnston had been drinking at a pub quiz. Grace had been elsewhere.
Grace later received a text from her husband, who had been at the pub drinking, telling her: “You should support me, but you do not.”
“Johnston woke up and said that he was going to leave her,” prosecutors said. “She went outside the property to stop him leaving. He followed her and pinned her to the ground. He placed both knees on her arms, so she was unable to move. He then began strangling her with both his hands.
“She was able to scream. She feared for her life and believed Johnston intended to kill her. He was very forceful.”
A witness described hearing screams and ran to pull Johnston away when he threatened to “finish” his wife off.
He then choked her and was seen brandishing a knife.
Addressing him in court, the judge told Mr Johnston: “I have no need to tell you that this is a serious and violent offence.
“You repeatedly strangled her, injured her and put her life in danger in what must have been absolutely terrifying circumstances for her.
“I am afraid, Mr Johnston, that your status has now changed, you have been convicted of a very serious crime and you will be remanded meantime.”
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