Spared jail, bride who spent wedding night in cells after assaulting her mum
A BRIDE who battered her mother with a stiletto-heeled shoe during a brawl at her wedding has been ordered to pay her compensation.
Claire Goodbrand, 26, walked free from court yesterday despite launching the savage assault at the reception.
The mother of four spent her first night married in a police cell after violence erupted at her wedding reception at The Vue in the Bathgate Hills, West Lothian.
She admitted battering her mother Cherry-Ann Lindsay on the head with a stiletto shoe as the celebration turned into a brawl.
Her husband Eamonn, 33, and his best man and brother Kieran, 36, both admitted assaulting Miss Lindsay’s boyfriend David Boyd, biting his finger and ear and gouging his eyes.
Kieran also pleaded guilty to a second charge of punching and kicking DJ Garry Brown to the head and body to his injury in the early hours of June 24, 2019.
Depute fiscal Louise Alexander said Mr Boyd and his partner had been in a taxi waiting to leave after the reception when he got out and walked back towards the venue. As he returned a few minutes later, she said, he was attacked from behind and repeatedly punched and kicked on the head and body by Kieran and Eamonn Goodbrand.
Miss Alexander said: ‘Kieran Goodbrand is then described as getting on top of Mr Boyd, who still had a glass bottle in his hand.
‘During the course of the attack he used the bottle he was carrying to strike Kieran Goodbrand on the head to defend himself.
‘Mr Boyd then saw Eamonn Goodbrand get on top of him and push both thumbs into his eyes before biting his right ear. He then felt Eamonn Goodbrand bite the middle finger of his right hand, leaving him with what’s described as a bad cut.’
Miss Alexander said Miss Lindsay got out of the taxi and saw her partner lying on the ground with the Goodbrand brothers kicking and punching him. She added: ‘Claire Goodbrand then grabbed Cherry-Ann Lindsay by the hair and repeatedly punched and kicked her, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground, striking her head on the concrete.
‘During the course of this, Cherry-Ann Lindsay’s shoe came off which she used to try to fend off Claire Goodbrand. Claire Goodbrand has then picked up her shoe and hit her in the front of her face with it.
‘The parties briefly separated before Claire Goodbrand put her arm around her mother’s throat and tried to choke her while she was pulling her hair out with her other hand.’
She said the Goodbrand brothers punched and kicked DJ Mr Brown when he tried to break up the fighting.
Luke O’Curry, defending Claire Goodbrand, said: ‘Her mother made the suggestion to her about a fantasy infidelity between her mother and Mrs Goodbrand’s new husband and Mrs Goodbrand became physical and struck her mother and put her to the ground.
‘The mother then uses her shoe to strike her on the head and Claire Goodbrand takes that same shoe off her and strikes her back.’
He added: ‘It should have been the best day of her life. It was certainly the most memorable day of her life, for all the wrong reasons.’
Passing sentence, Sheriff Jane Farquharson told the trio: ‘You all have to live with the consequences of your actions and the shame and embarrassment which will forever taint what should have been the happiest family day.’
She ordered Mrs Goodbrand to pay £1,000 compensation to her mother in fortnightly instalments of £20.
Eamonn Goodbrand was placed under social work supervision for nine months and ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work. Kieran Goodbrand was handed 200 hours of unpaid work for the assault on Mr Boyd and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Brown.
‘Live with the consequences’