Husband shoots at wife’s ex-lover in ‘revenge porn’ row
A HUSBAND turned his shotgun on his wife’s former lover after seeing a naked photograph of her on Facebook.
Robert Ellerby’s wife, Ruby, 35, had left him for Scott Watmuff, but returned to her husband, who runs a business constructing designer rabbit hutches from home. Watmuff, 41, sought revenge by posting an intimate picture of Mrs Ellerby on social media. He then turned up at the couple’s home in the village of Sawdon, North Yorks, after drinking heavily, Teesside Crown Court was told, and demanded £500 from Mrs Ellerby for the deposit on a flat they had shared.
When she and her husband, who were in bed, failed to answer the door he picked up a “massive stone” from the garden and hurled it through the windscreen of her Honda Civic, causing £2,000 damage. Ellerby, 44, responded by firing a legally held shotgun at Watmuff from an attic window, hitting him on the back of the right leg.
Watmuff, a fitness instructor from Scarborough, was jailed for 16 weeks last month after admitting criminal damage and disclosing a private sexual photograph with intent to cause distress.
The court heard yesterday that Watmuff had feared for his life after being shot by Ellerby, who then pursued him into a field holding the loaded gun. It was only when passers-by intervened that Ellerby removed the cartridges.
Watmuff suffered 20 small circular wounds from the shot to his calf but no serious injuries. The court was told he suffered post traumatic stress disorder.
Charles Blatchford, the lawyer for Ellerby, who admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and causing actual bodily harm, said his client had intended to only fire a warning shot into the ground.
Judge Stephen Ashurst deferred sentencing until today.