Man denies charges of controlling two women

A Perth man has denied subjecting two women to a seven-month catalogue of abusive and controlling behaviour.

In one of the charges, 22-year-old Samuel Murphy is said to have attacked the female and then stood on the outer ledge of his second floor home and threatened to take his own life.

It is alleged that she had to pull him back in to safety - and when she questioned him about his mental health, it is claimed he repeatedly punched himself on the head.

And when she tried to go to his aid, he is accused of sinking his teeth into her right forearm before again threatening to commit suicide.

In the detailed charge involving the other woman, Murphy, of Kinnoull Street, is said to have brought the car he was driving to an immediate stop - and that he“became hysterical”when confronted over images on his mobile phone.

Murphy is accused of attempting to control the behaviour of both women, causing them to be“frightened, intimidated, humiliated and degraded”by him.

He will face trial at Perth Sheriff Court on April 27, with an earlier hearing scheduled for April 8.

It is alleged that between November 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020, at his Perth address, at a cottage near Blairgowrie and at a lay-by on the B9099, between Luncarty and Stanley, he engaged in a course of behaviour which was abusive to his partner or ex-partner.

It is claimed that, during the course of an argument, he repeatedly punched her on the head, clenched his fist and repeatedly pulled his hand back as if to strike her.

On being confronted about the phone images, he is said to have grabbed the woman on the arm, bit her hand and accused her of being interested in other men and not him.

Murphy is then alleged to have lost his temper, lashed out with his arms and legs and struck the woman on the body, before punching himself on the head and causing her to remain with him until he calmed down.

The final part of the lengthy charge alleges that he repeatedly kicked her on the body during an argument, causing her to fall onto the floor, and that he stood over her and spat on her head and body.

The second charge is said to have taken place at Murphy’s flat and at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, St Margaret’s Head, North Queensferry, between June 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021.

He is accused of stopping her getting out of the living room at his home, before punching her to the head and then making the suicide threat on the window ledge during the course of an argument.

It is then claimed that he repeatedly punched himself on the head because the second female would not cuddle him, before punching a glass window in his home, “smashing it entirely.”

During the course of two further alleged arguments, it is said that he slapped her to the right side of her head and threw a glass and its contents towards the woman, before pushing her onto her back.

Finally, he is said to have bitten her on her knees and held his left arm over her neck, restricting her breathing.

Murphy, who was represented by Perth lawyer David Holmes, was freed on bail.

But two special bail conditions were imposed by Sheriff Neil Bowie.

The accused has been banned from approaching or contacting either of the females and barred from entering a street in Rosyth or a home where the alleged victims live.