Bride in Viral Dress Debate: 'My Husband Is Trying to Kill Me'

Keir Johnston pleads guilty to assault on wife Grace Johnston, whom he wed in 2015
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2024 10:16 AM CDT
Bride in Viral Dress Debate: 'My Husband Is Trying to Kill Me'
Versions of a dress made by Roman Originals, which sparked a global debate on over what color it is, is displayed in Birmingham, England, on Feb. 27, 2015.   (AP Photo/PA. Joe Giddens)

A guest at their wedding wore what became the dress that broke the internet. Now their marriage might be broken as well. Keir Johnston, one half of a Scottish couple who appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2015 after a viral debate about color perceptions stemming from a photo of a dress interpreted as being either blue and black or gold and white, pleaded guilty Thursday to an attack that left his wife fearing for her life, per the Guardian. Johnston pinned Grace Johnston to the ground, attempted to strangle her, then brandished a knife, Glasgow's High Court heard, per LBC. "Somebody is going to die," he allegedly threatened.

Johnston, then of the Isle of Colonsay, had allegedly tried to strangle his wife once before, per LBC. In the days leading up to the attack on March 6, 2022, Grace Johnston had gone to a job interview on the Scottish mainland against her husband's wishes, the outlet reports. Johnston later told his wife he was leaving her. When she tried to prevent him leaving their home, he pinned her to the ground. "He placed both knees on her arms, so she was unable to move. He then began strangling her with both his hands," prosecutors said. A witness reportedly intervened after hearing Grace Johnston scream.

But Johnston then brandished a knife, threatened to "finish" his wife, and again choked her, prosecutors said, per the BBC. Grace Johnston was eventually able to call police, saying, "My husband is trying to kill me," the outlet adds. The judge noted Johnston, 38, "repeatedly strangled her, injured her, and put her life in danger in what must have been absolutely terrifying circumstances for her." He was expected to face trial before pleading guilty to the attack Thursday. He was remanded into custody until sentencing on June 6. (More assault stories.)

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