A man who was brought to international attention for his link to a viral debate about the true colors of a dress was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison Thursday over a violent attack on his wife.
Keir Johnston, 38, pleaded guilty last month to charges brought in connection with the assault on his spouse, Grace Johnston, at their home on a small island off the coast of Scotland in 2022. Keir threw Grace to the ground, strangled her, and also brandished a knife during the attack in which Grace believed she was about to die.
Lady Drummond, the judge, said at the High Court in Glasgow that Keir had throttled his wife for around 20 seconds. “Initially she was able to scream,” Drummond said, according to Sky News. “She feared for her life and believed you intended to kill her.” She also said Keir had been “very forceful” in the assault.
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The couple found viral fame in 2015 when Grace’s mother bought a dress for their wedding. When another guest attending the ceremony shared a photo of the garment online, a massive debate erupted about whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold.
The baffling phenomenon ballooned into a worldwide sensation with A-listers including Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian weighing in on the discourse, and the Johnstons even cut short their honeymoon to appear on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show as millions of people were gripped by “the dress that broke the Internet.”
The couple remained largely out of the spotlight until allegations of domestic abuse emerged against Keir. Details of shocking violence were heard in the court proceedings that culminated in his sentencing this week.
On March 6, 2022, the day of the attack for which he’s been jailed, gas station attendant Keir had been drinking at a pub quiz while Grace was elsewhere. The court heard Grace had attended a job interview on the Scottish mainland against Keir’s wishes and he sent her text messages on the day of the assault claiming she didn’t support him.
When she returned to their home on the remote Isle of Colonsay, Grace found Keir asleep. When he woke, Keir told Grace he was going to leave her, prosecutors said, and walked out of their cottage.
Grace followed him outside, the court heard, at which point Keir became violent. After throwing her to the ground, he proceeded to pin her down with his knees on her arms and started to strangle her.
A witness heard Grace’s screams and tried to intervene. Keir initially stopped and went back inside the cottage, but then returned holding a knife. “You came back outside and threatened to finish her off,” Drummond said. At one point in the attack, he was heard saying: “Somebody is going to die.”
Grace contacted friends for help as well as emergency services, telling the dispatcher: “My husband is trying to kill me.” She was left with severe bruising on her neck after the assault.
Keir pleaded guilty in May to assaulting Grace to her injury and endangering her life. At sentencing, Drummond acknowledged that Keir had “shown remorse and insight” when discussing the incident and had voluntarily attended therapy.
In addition to his custodial sentence, he was also handed an order preventing him from contacting his wife for 10 years.
