JUDGE TELLS VIOLENT EDINBURGH MAN 'YOU'RE A LAW UNTO YOURSELF' AS SHE JAILS HIM
A malicious stalker tracked a woman from Edinburgh to Manchester before deliberately smashing her windows after enduring six years of horrific domestic abuse.Darren Duthie, aged 30, had been in a relationship with the woman, during which he became controlling and aggressive.
The woman, in her twenties, ended the relationship in 2020 after he threw 'lit cigarettes' at her while she was pregnant.
However, Duthie started stalking her, resulting in multiple convictions in Edinburgh for domestic abuse.
On Monday, May 18, Manchester Crown Court was told that Duthie poured petrol down the letterbox of her home, prompting her to contact emergency services and evacuate the building in 2021.
In 2022, he broke into her house and assaulted her with a knife.
In 2023, he vandalized her mother’s grave and attacked her with a hammer.
While incarcerated in March 2024, Duthie sent her a threatening message from prison, containing disturbing threats of harm and violence.
Edinburgh Police issued the woman with a threat-to-life warning and informed her that Duthie was to be released from prison a week later.
Fearing for her safety, she fled the country with her children, traveling to Manchester with only a suitcase and a backpack each, despite a restraining order prohibiting any contact.
The woman described Duthie as relentless, saying he acts 'a law unto himself,' and expressed fears for her and her children’s safety, worried he might take her life.
Jessica Foster, the defendant's solicitor, noted that Duthie continues to deny the charges, which are mainly related to domestic abuse.
Judge Kate Cornell condemned his conduct as profoundly shocking, disgraceful, and reprehensible.
Duthie received a ten-year sentence, consisting of six years in prison and an additional four-year extended license.
He is required to serve two-thirds of his six-year term before becoming eligible for parole, and he has prior convictions for criminal damage and stalking that caused fear of violence.
