The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lottery winner locked up for attack on wife
Alotter y winner who shou ted “die... die” as he choked his wife on the floor of their Liff home has been jailed.
Graeme Lacey, 55, has also been banned from contacting the woman for the next 20 years after he admitted subjecting her to the attack.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how the woman feared for her life as Lacey squeezed her neck with both hands.
Lacey, who scooped the lottery win in 2016 as part of a workplace syndicate, was jailed for 22 months.
He pled guilty to endangering the woman’s life during the attack.
“Your wife is still carrying the mental trauma of what you did to her and she has clearly been mentally damaged by what you did to her,” Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said.
Prosecutor Marie Irvine said the couple returned home in a taxi in the early hours where Lacey began to insult the woman.
Lacey then threw a dog bowl at the woman, which missed her, before striking her with a pair of trainers.
Ms Ir vine said: “The accused then came up to her face in an intimidating manner be fore the complainer said that she wasn’t scared of him.
“He grabbed the witness and threw her to the floor. He pinned her down, straddled her and began to strangle her while saying ‘die... die’.
“She was pleading with the acc used, tr ying to reason with him saying, ‘It’s me, you’re hurting me, you’re going to kill me’.”
Despite her desparate pleas, Lacey continued to strangle the woman as she fought to free herself.
The woman managed to escape and was collected in a car by her nephew.
Lacey told him: “I was half expecting you to be the police. I have no regrets for what I did.”
Police were contacted despite the woman’s initial opposition.
Lacey, of Invergowrie, pled guilty to throwing a dog bowl at the woman, throwing a pair of trainers which struck her on the body, seizing her body, pushing and pinning her to the floor before straddling her and choking her to the danger of her life on June 232019 on Old Dronley Road, Liff.
Lacey was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing and returned to court following the preparation of reports.
He was jailed for 22 months and placed on a non-harassment order for the next two decades.
Sheriff Carmichael told Lacey: “You assaulted your wife by, among other things, pinning her to the ground and strangling her using both hands while shouting ‘die, f ****** die’.
“Your wife was struggling to breathe. I see no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Lacey was part of a 16-strong syndicate which won £1 million in the Euro Millions UK Millionaire Maker while working with MJ Ventilation in Coupar Angus.