The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Army doctor on bullying charges made pet threat
TRIAL: Lieutenant colonel said he would shoot animal during row with wife he suspected was being unfaithful
A colonel accused of bullying his wife yesterday told his trial that the search for a curry recipe led him to believe she was being unfaithful.
Simon Bloodworth said while looking up butter chicken on his internet browser he discovered his wife Lisa had made several searches for accommodation and employment in Cheshire.
Bloodworth, a lieutenant colonel and Army doctor, told Perth Sheriff Court: “I knew that she had a male friend in Cheshire and she had been searching for jobs and things in the area where he lived.”
The 48-year-old denies a string of charges relating to a course of coercive and controlling behaviour he is alleged to have carried out towards his 51-year-old wife.
Yesterday, in relation to a charge of threatening to kill the family’s pet dog, Bloodworth said he had made a comment about shooting the animal during an argument with his wife.
“I think so many people threaten to kill their pets, without ever meaning to kill their pets,” he told the court.
The trial continues.
Ahigh-ranking Army doctor, accused of subjecting his wife to domestic bullying has told a court that he found evidence of an alleged affair while searching the internet for a buttered chicken recipe.
Lieutenant Colonel Simon Bloodworth, 48, is on trial at Perth Sheriff Court, accused of using controlling and coercive behaviour towards his wife Lisa, 51, in Scotland and Germany, between April 1 2019 and April 6 2020.
He is further accused of threatening to kill the family’s pet dog.
It is alleged Mr Bloodworth controlled his wife’s finances, banned her from going back to work and had knowledge of passwords to her devices and social media accounts.
Taking the witness stand on day two of his trial, Mr Bloodworth told how he was at home in Invergordon when he suspected his wife was having an affair.
“I went online to look for a recipe for buttered chicken,” he said.
“I had used the recipe before so I went into the browser history and looked over the last 10 days.
“There were multiple searches for housing and jobs in Cheshire.
“I knew that she had a male friend in Cheshire and she had been searching for jobs and things in the area where he lived.”
A later argument with his wife led to the comment about the dog, he said. “Our chihuahua was jumping up on me and jumping on to my iPad. I must admit I was getting frustrated.
“I said: ‘Oh for God’s sake, would you stop it? I will take you out into the woods and shoot you’. That was not a credible threat. I was on the edge at the time, because I had just had an argument with my wife.”
Under cross-examination by fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston, he said the comment was “half in humour and half in frustration”.
He added: “I think so many people threaten to kill their pets, without ever meaning to kill their pets.”
Bloodworth, who denies all charges, told the court how he had tracked down his wife after she fled the family home, using an app to locate an iPad in her car.
“I followed them. My only intention was to find out what was going on. I didn’t have a firm plan,” he said.
He followed her to a supermarket car park and claims she said she would return home the next day, so he left.
The following night, when she failed to return home, he went to her parents’ home in Blairgowrie and said he knocked on the door several times then drove home, when the police phoned him and asked him to come in for questioning.
The trial, before Sheriff Neil Bowie, continues.