Man behind viral blue-black dress photo charged with attempted murder of wife

Agencies | Glasgow              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A man who rose to popularity when his mother-in-law's wedding dress went viral owing to its strange colour qualities has reportedly appeared in court accused of the attempted murder of his wife.
Keir Johnston, 38, of the Scottish Isle of Colonsay, is accused of engaging in a nearly 11-year campaign involving major domestic abuse and coercive control, ending in an attempt to murder his wife, according to the Times.

On Monday, he appeared in Glasgow High Court and rejected all accusations levelled against him, with the case adjourned for a further preliminary hearing before a trial in 2024. Johnston is accused of assaulting his wife repeatedly at their residence in the Inner Hebrides, resulting in an attempt to strangle her.

Between April 2019 and March 2022, he was accused of forcing his wife against a wall, yelling at her and strangling her, threatening to murder her, and waving a knife at her. He is also accused of attempting to enter his wife's vehicle and hitting her through an open window, as well as putting her in a headlock and pulling her from a pub when she refused to go with him. According to the accusations, Johnston separated his wife from her friends and closely monitored her whereabouts and income.

The dress worn by Johnston's mother-in-law was dubbed "The Dress That Broke the Internet" when it became a social media sensation in 2015 after being published on Tumblr by a guest at his wedding, Caitlin McNeill. She had asked for assistance in deciding whether the outfit should be blue and black or white and gold. Following that, Johnston appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Prosecutors believe that the couple's relationship escalated into a series of violent attacks by Johnston, leading to his wife's attempted murder.