Man who choked partner before starting blaze at Milnathort flats jailed for seven years

A domestic abuser who choked his then-partner before starting a blaze at a flat which endangered the lives of others has been jailed for seven years.

David Storie was found guilty of assaulting and choking the woman to the danger of her life following the attack at his home in Milnathort on June 1, 2024.

The 37-year-old seized the victim by the neck and squeezed, leaving her unable to breathe.

After causing her to fall to the floor, he pinned her down with a clothes horse.

The woman managed to escape from the flat and sought help from a neighbour, but was followed by Storie, who grabbed her and dragged her back to his home.

The 37-year-old then set fire to a cushion and a mattress label using a cigarette lighter at his flat, before leaving without warning other building occupants of the blaze.

The deliberate fire spread to adjacent homes and resulted in the demolition of flats.

A judge told Storie: “Custody is the only appropriate disposal having regard to the serious nature of your offending.”

Judge Alison Stirling said she received a victim impact statement from one of the residents in the flats at the time of the fire, which has had a major impact on him and a child.

The judge said she noted that Storie did not accept his conviction for committing the wilful fire-raising.

Storie, a prisoner at Perth jail, was convicted of two offences following an earlier trial.

He was found guilty of assaulting his partner to her injury and to the danger of life by grabbing her by the throat and restricting her breathing as he compressed her neck on June 1, 2024.

Storie admitted breaching bail conditions not to approach or contact his former partner on various occasions part-way through the trial.

He was also found guilty of willfully setting fire to the flat on the same date, with the fire spreading to neighbouring flats, causing damage to the building structure and to the danger of the lives of his partner and other occupants.

Storie was originally charged with attempting to murder them but was acquitted of that allegation.

The court heard that police who responded to reports of an incident could see smoke and flames as they arrived at the scene and found “a well-established fire”. Firefighters who attended could see flames coming from windows at the property, and flames had breached the roof.

Defence counsel David Taylor said the most serious charge was the wilful fire-raising, but significantly, from the judge’s point of view, the conviction came with the deletion of attempting to murder the occupants.

He said that Storie has no outstanding matters to come to court and had never been sentenced to imprisonment previously.

He said a background report prepared on the offender showed he has “a fairly significant history of adverse childhood experiences”.

The judge made a non harassment order prohibiting Storie from contacting the assault victim for an indefinite period.