The Scottish man behind the viral “dress that broke the internet” appeared in court this week for the attempted murder of his wife, Grace Johnston, at their home in March 2022. Keir Johnston uploaded the photo of a dress that his mother-in-law wore to the couple’s wedding and sent everyone into a frenzy as different people saw different colors. Many saw the stripes as black and blue, while others swore the dress was white and gold.
Prosecutors have now accused Johnston of an 11-year domestic violence and coercive control campaign against Grace before he eventually tried to kill her by pinning her down and pressing down on her neck, The Guardian reports. He also used a knife against her, though she thankfully escaped with her life.
Keir Johnston is said to have repeatedly assaulted Grace at their home in the Inner Hebrides on the Isle of Colonsay for more than a decade. Between April 2019 and March 2022 alone, he’s accused of having pushed Grace against a wall, screaming and choking her, brandishing a knife, and threatening to kill her, among other serious allegations.
On one occasion, he reportedly hit her through an open window of a vehicle his wife was in, while at another time, he reportedly. put her in a headlock and dragged her from a pub.
In addition to physical abuse, authorities say Johnston isolated his wife from her friends and family and controlled how she spent her money, how much money she had access to, where she went, and what she was doing at all times.
A series of violent attacks on Grace led Keir Johnston to eventually try to kill her on March 6, 2022, when he sat on her on the ground and choked her while threatening to kill her.
Keir Johnston has denied all charges against him and is scheduled to go to trial in 2024.
