Edinburgh crime: Man who pulled knife and threatened to kill his girlfriend escapes jail sentence

Tyler Ellis placed on supervision order and ordered to engage with domestic abuse organisation

An Edinburgh man who pulled a knife and threatened to kill his girlfriend in an “utterly appalling” attack has escaped a jail sentence.

Tyler Ellis, 27, launched the sickening assault on his then partner by grabbing her by the neck and pinning her to a bed at her home in Edinburgh in May last year.

Ellis then demanded the terrified woman hand over her phone code before chasing her into the street while brandishing a blade and shouting he was going to kill her. Following his arrest, he then breached his bail by repeatedly contacting her and stating he would “murder” her if he ever caught her with another man.

An Edinburgh man who pulled a knife and threatened to kill his girlfriend in an “utterly appalling” attack has escaped a jail sentence.

Ellis pleaded guilty to charges of assault, threatening or abusive behaviour and breaching bail and was remanded when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year. He returned to the dock from custody for sentencing yesterday where a sheriff spared him a jail term and instead banned him from contacting his victim.

Defence agent Ruairidh Mulheron told the court: “The offences Mr Ellis pled guilty to were utterly appalling and that is not lost on Mr Ellis. Mr Ellis’s background has led him to substance abuse which has led to his offending.”

Sheriff Ian Anderson said: “I am satisfied in the circumstances that it would be appropriate in these two matters to follow the recommendations in the [social work] report.”

The sheriff placed Ellis on a two year supervision order and ordered him to engage with the domestic abuse organisation, the Caledonian Mens Programme. Ellis was also handed a non-harassment order banning him from having any contact with her for the next two years.

Previously fiscal depute Jennifer McLaren told the court Ellis’ partner had been out with friends and had returned to her home in the Silverknowes area of the city at around 4am on May 22 last year. Ms McLaren said the couple had been seeing each other for around eight months and after receiving a text from him Ellis had turned up at her front door.

The court was told the woman allowed him entry and went to bed where Ellis burst into the bedroom shouting she had “taken the p***” out of him. The prosecutor said Ellis held her down on the bed and had grabbed her by the neck and demanded she hand over her phone passcode. The court heard the victim “felt pressure on her neck but she could still breathe and didn’t lose consciousness”. She shouted for help and Ellis threatened her by saying “I’m going to f***ing kill you”.

The woman saw Ellis had a knife in his hand and managed to break free and flee from the property. Ellis caught up with her in a nearby car park and pinned her against a vehicle in the street while shouting he was “going to kill her”.

Ellis was said to have then ran off and police officers who were called out and said they found the victim in a “hysterical” state. The court was told Mr Ellis’ partner suffered a graze to her hand and superficial injury to her neck during the attack.

Ms McLaren said Ellis, now of the Capital’s Crewe area, was subsequently released from custody with a bail condition not to contact the victim.

But he then breached the court order by making around 170 phone calls to the woman over the next two days. During the calls Ellis was said to have made threats to harm her family and stated “if he saw her with anyone else he would murder her”.