A jilted ex-boyfriend bombarded his former partner with daily calls for two months before brutally assaulting her in her own home, a court has heard.
Stuart Cooke, 33, sent a series of terrifying messages to the woman telling her he would “smash” her face in and described himself as a “killa” after she refused to rekindle their relationship.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that six months after the woman had rejected him, Cooke barged into her home and viciously attacked her in the presence of her children.
Following this incident, Cooke continued to threaten and intimidate the woman, causing her to feel unsafe in her own home.
Accused called woman almost daily
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told the court that the couple’s relationship ended in late 2020 with Cooke asking if they could get back together in November 2021 – an idea the woman rejected.
As a result, Cooke began to persistently call her for two months, sometimes up to 50 times a day.
When she didn’t answer, he would send messages that ranged from telling her he missed her to making threats to cause her harm.
Ms Martin said: “In many of the messages, the accused made threats to ‘smash’ the complainer’s face and tell her that he was a ‘killa’.
“The complainer would block the accused’s telephone number however he would obtain another one in order to make contact with her.”
Often when the women answered the calls, Cooke would shout, swear and make threats to kill her.
Brutal home invasion
In August 2022, the woman was at home with her children when Cooke arrived uninvited.
As soon as she opened the front door, Cooke barged in and headbutted her and punched her in the face, leaving her with a black eye and bruising.
The following month he called her and threatened to smash up her home.
She continued to receive daily telephone calls from Cooke where he made further threats to harm her.
In February 2023, the woman went to police and reported Cooke’s behaviour, showing them screenshots of the threatening messages and the numerous calls and voice notes.
In the dock, Cooke pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and a second charge of engaging in a course of conduct that was abusive to his former partner and which included assaulting her.
‘He refused to accept’ end of relationship
Defence solicitor Laura Gracie told the court that from a young age, her client had struggled with his mental health, which he is currently seeking help with.
“His position is that when the relationship ended, he refused to accept it,” she said.
“He had hoped that he would be able to persuade the complainer to get back together – he knows it’s at an end and he has accepted it.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Ian Wallace made Cooke, of Nigg Kirk Road, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered him to take part in a domestic abuse programme and put a non-harassment order in place, meaning he cannot approach his former partner for five years.
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