Back in 2015, a 38-year-old Scottish man, Keir Johnston, sparked a debate on social media over the colour of a dress that was worn by his mother-in-law at his wedding. The dress went insanely viral as some people saw it as “black and blue”, others thought that it was “gold and white”.
Eight years later, the same man behind the viral dress pleaded guilty to endangering his wife’s life, and admitted to attempting to strangle her.
Keir Johnston appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to a “terrifying” attack on his wife, Grace Johnston, that left her “fearing for her life”, but alive, according to The Daily Record.
Johnston, from the Isle of Colonsay, off the west coast of Scotland, was remanded in custody until his sentence next month, scheduled for June 6.
The debate over the dress’s true colours broke the internet, drawing thousands of comments, including from celebrities. Kim Kardashian also posted that she had argued about it with her then-husband, Kanye West.
Ellen DeGeneres invited the Johnstons onto her talk show, where they were given $10,000 and a trip to Grenada.
This week, the Scottish court heard that Johnston left his wife fearing for her life, and had a history of domestic abuse towards her.
Chris Macintosh, prosecutor for the Crown, told Lady Drummond and the court how Grace lived in fear of her abusive husband. “There is no permanent police presence on the island, and she was in a situation where she felt trapped,” he said.
The court heard that Grace had once refused her husband’s demands not to attend a job interview on the mainland. Days later, he told her he was leaving her before the pair got into an altercation where Johnston grabbed his wife and threw her to the ground.
“Johnston woke up and said that he was going to leave her. She went outside the property to stop him leaving. He followed her and pinned her to the ground,” Macintosh said, according to The Record.
“He placed both knees on her arms, so she was unable to move. He then began strangling her with both his hands.
“She was initially able to scream and feared for her life and believed Johnston intended to kill her as he was very forceful,” Macintosh said that despite suffering severe bruising, Johnston did not require medical treatment.
Lawyers for Johnston said he had accepted responsibility for the assault. Lady Drummond denied Johnston bail and placed him in custody, telling him, “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,” Drummond said.
