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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Emylie Howie

Paisley brute jailed after punching wife unconscious when she said relationship was over

A bully drank a bottle of vodka with his wife then punched her unconscious when she said their relationship was over.

Brute George Staniforth grabbed his partner of 12 years, Deborah Black, by the neck and repeatedly punched her, causing her to lose consciousness on September 26, 2020, at his George Street flat.

Staniforth, 57, and Deborah Black are married and have been in an “on/off” relationship for about 12 years.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard there have been 200 reported domestic incidents to the police where both parties have alternatively been the perpetrator or victim.

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Procurator fiscal depute David McDonald told Paisley Sheriff Court: “On the evening of Friday, September 25, 2020, Deborah Black attended at the home address of Staniforth with the intention of collecting the money that belonged to her and having a few drinks in his company.

“Both consumed about a litre of vodka between them before they went to bed.

“On Saturday, September 26, around 6am, Black told the accused that their relationship was over and the accused reacted by turning her over in the bed, but she pulled the quilt back over her and turned away from him.

“The accused then turned Ms Black back around and grabbed her by the neck and punched her to the left side of the face.

“Black stated that it was an assault, with the accused stating, ‘No, I’ll show you assault’ and leaned over her and punched her again to the left side of her head.

“Black states she must have blacked out at this point as she then awoke and immediately contacted the police.

“On the call to police, Ms Black stated, ‘I’ve just been assaulted. He just knocked me out. He punched me on the side of the head’.

“While on the phone, the accused could be heard in the background shouting, ‘I never punched you on the side of your head, f*****g liar, by the way’.

“The call handler advised Black to leave the property and wait in a safe place for police.

“The accused then threw her out of the house and then her clothes.”

The court heard police officers found Ms Black in the common close of the property in a “distressed state” and had redness to the left side of her face.

Mr McDonald added: “As Black had stated she had lost consciousness, she was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where she received a CT scan.

“The scan was clear.

“On September 27, the accused handed himself in, where he was arrested, cautioned and charged.”

Defence agent David Nicholson told the court that “emotions were running high” during this period of the couple’s relationship.

Mr Nicholson added: “He is ashamed of his actions and parties wish to reconcile.

“Although both live independently, he is the ongoing carer for the complainer and they support each other.

“The relationship is very much tit-for-tat, but he does recognise the significant error of his actions that day, but, once again, he was shadowed by alcohol.”

Sheriff Bruce Erroch QC said: “This was an unpleasant assault on your partner.

“I can not ignore the fact you have an appalling record and a substantial number of domestic aggravations on your record.”

Sheriff Erroch QC jailed Staniforth, who has a tattoo on the left side of his neck of the name Deborah, for 15 months, backdating this to September 14 last year.

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