Brian Henry jailed for hammer attack on wife
A man who attacked his estranged wife with a hammer outside her parents home after learning she had seen another man has been jailed for five years.
Brian Henry, 42, was originally charged with attempted murder over the attack on Fiona Henry in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on 14 December 2012.
He was found guilty of an amended charge of assault to severe injury and danger of life.
The High Court in Glasgow heard he phoned police after the attack.
The court was told that the joiner and his wife had exchanged angry emails after splitting in September 2012.
The jury also heard that Henry had lost tens of thousands of pounds in a failed property deal in Greece.
The 42-year-old was said to have lost his temper after returning from a stag weekend in Liverpool and hearing of his wife's alleged infidelity.
Henry then noticed what he thought was a baby oil stain on the bed head at the couple's East Kilbride home.
He confronted his wife outside her parents' home in the town on 14 December 2012, where he hit her several times over the head with a hammer.
During the trial, the court heard from her 77-year-old father, James McTaggart, who said he was there when his daughter came into his house after being attacked by Henry.
Mr McTaggart told the court: "She was quite hysterical. She said Brian had attacked her with a hammer.
"She was very agitated. She was shouting about whether all the doors were locked."
Mr McTaggart also told the court that his daughter phoned for an ambulance while he went outside to see if he could spot Henry.
The court heard that Mr McTaggart saw Henry standing in the street carrying a hammer but did not approach him.
Mr McTaggart added: "He (Henry) shouted 'I'm phoning the police'."
Jailing Henry, judge Lord Doherty told him: "I accept that you are genuinely remorseful.
"I also accept that at the time of the offence you were suffering from a mild to moderate depressive episode with severe anxiety symptoms and had experienced difficult circumstances."
He added: "There was at least some degree of planning - when you took the hammer to the scene you had in mind that you might attack her with it."