Man faces jail after attacks on women

Aman who beat up three women in the space of minutes is facing a prison term. Aiden Palmer, 26, pinned his 42-year-old girlfriend to a bed by straddling her and throttling her.

When her sister arrived, Palmer turned on her and punched her several times after thumping her head against a wall.

She escaped and called the police, but Palmer then attacked the female officer who was first on the scene.

He punched the officer on the head and body and tried to bite her during a struggle which was only ended after her colleague used Pava spray to overpower him.

Fiscal depute Michael Sweeney told Perth Sheriff Court yesterday that the accused and the complainer have been in a relationship for several months.

The sibling attended after being advised by several people that they had been unable to get in touch with her sister.

“There was no reply to knocking. She tried the door and it was unlocked so she entered. She saw signs of disturbance including upturned chairs.”

He said she ran upstairs and found the accused on top of her sister, who had red marks on her neck; she described her as looking terrified.

“The accused jumped from the bed, grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her, causing her head to collide with a door frame,” Mr Sweeney said.

“He grabbed her by her clothing and pushed her against the bannister. She tried to defend herself by scratching his face, and he punched her repeatedly.”

She broke free, ran out of the property and contacted the police, Mr Sweeney said.

She was outside, “visibly distressed and with facial injuries”.

She told officers: “He’s going to kill her. He’s already hit her, and look at my face.”

Palmer came out of a kitchen cupboard in a rage and lunged at the female officer, punching her several times on the body before her colleague could deploy Pava spray.

Palmer and the two officers were affected by the spray, but he continued to resist arrest and tried to bite the female officer on the arm.

Further police units were called in and Palmer was handcuffed and placed in leg restraints as he sat in the garden to recover from the spray.

Palmer, of Glengarry Road, Perth, admitted attacking and injuring the 42-year-old at an address in Perth by straddling her and seizing her by the throat.

He admitted assaulting and injuring her sister by grabbing her body and clothing, pushing her and repeatedly punching her on the head.

Palmer, who was on bail at the time, also admitted attacking the female police officer by punching her head and body, struggling with her and trying to bite her on the body.

He also admitted breaching a bail condition to stay away from the 42-year-old by being in her home when the incidents took place on the afternoon of October 18.

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said Palmer had been woken up and got into a row with his girlfriend but could offer no further explanation for the catalogue of violence.

He said she had indicated she wanted to resume their relationship, and he would contest the Crown’s motion for a non-harassment order.

Sheriff Alistair Carmichael deferred sentence for background reports.

He told Palmer: “You are looking at a custodial sentence.”