Falkirk court hears control freak threatened suicide if partner went to her dad's 50th birthday
A “controlling and jealous” offender could not stand it when his partner would talk to friends and family.
Dylan Matthews, 23, would stop the woman going to see other people, demand she hang up phone calls and threatened to commit suicide is she went to her father’s 50th birthday party.
He even took her bus pass from her to restrict her ability to travel.
Matthews appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive towards his partner from November 11, 2023 to October 4, 2024 at an address in Burnfoot Court, Grangemouth.
The procurator fiscal depute said: “The witness was due to attend her father’s 50th birthday. The accused started voicing his dislike of her family and said if she attended the party he would commit suicide.”
Matthews exhibited this controlling behaviour throughout the relationship.
“He demanded she spend all her time with him and could only visit her family when he was with her. He would keep her bus pass. She was struggling with the accused’s behaviour and being a mum.
"She would video call friends and he would demand she turn the phone off and spend time with him. She would spend time in the toilet and lock herself in. He caused damage to the door and she was in the bathroom for 15 minutes before the accused calmed down.
"The relationship ended by mutual agreement and he was asked to leave the address. She asked for her bus pass and he said it was in the kitchen. Upon checking, she couldn’t find it and he would not say where it was.”
The court heard Matthews was away from his own “social circle” while he was with the woman and he did “try his best” when it come to looking after the baby. It was stated his behaviour during the course of the relationship was “non-violent”.
Sheriff Christopher Shead said Matthews, 107 Provost Rust Drive, Aberdeen, was “controlling and jealous”.
He placed him on a supervised community payback order for 18 months with the condition he complete 125 hours of unpaid work with in 12 months.
Sheriff Shead also made him subject to a non-harassment order not to contact his former partner in any way for 12 months.