Man whose mother-in-law wore viral colour changing dress has been charged with trying to kill his wife

A 38-year-old man whose his mother-in-law found viral fame after wearing a dress which nobody could agree the colour of has been charged with attempting to kill his wife.

According to The Times, Keir Johnston has appeared in Glasgow's High Court after being charged with attempted murder.

Johnston's mother-in-law gained viral fame in 2015 after she wore a dress to his wedding which had the internet split over whether it was white and gold or blue and black.

First posted online by a wedding guest, the dress became famous worldwide and even saw the 38-year-old and his wife appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where they confirmed that the infamous dress really was black and blue.

However, The Times has reported that Johnston is facing a slew of allegations that for years he committed domestic violence and coercive control against his partner and ultimately attempted to kill her.

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He is facing allegations that he repeatedly assaulted his wife at their home on the Isle of Colonsay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland.

The Times also reports that Johnston is alleged to have committed 'an almost 11-year campaign' against his wife but that the charges he is facing refer to incidents which occurred between April 2019 and March 2022.

Among the allegations are claims that he pushed his wife against a wall, shouted at her, throttled her, threatened to kill her and brandished a knife at her.

Other allegations include him attempting to enter a vehicle his wife was in and striking her through one of its open windows, along with claims that he once put her in a headlock and dragged her out of a pub after she didn't want to leave with him.

Other charges he is facing claim that Johnston isolated his wife from her friends, along with monitoring her movements and finances.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Prosecutors claim that the alleged abusive behaviour reached an apex on 6 March, 2022 as he supposedly pinned his wife to the ground and allegedly put his hands around her neck and repeatedly applied pressure.

It was also claimed that he threatened to kill his wife during this incident and brandished a knife at her, with the Crown saying that he carried out these alleged actions with the intention of murdering his wife.

It is for this alleged incident that he has been charged with attempted murder.

Johnston has denied all of the charges laid against him, and the case is expected to go to trial in 2024.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, call Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit their website here. In an emergency always dial 999.