'I’m scared' plea sent to pals after abusive Nairn man took partner to woods
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A frightened woman texted friends to seek help after her abusive partner took her to an unfamiliar wooded area and she did not know how to get out.
It prompted her pals to go and look for her but by then, police, who had been informed by them, had traced her with her partner Zharick Henderson (22).
It was one incident in a campaign of domestic abuse towards the woman after the pair entered a relationship at Christmas 2021. It began to fall apart in March 2022.
Henderson was appearing for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after previously admitting engaging in a course of domestic abuse conduct. The case had been deferred for a background report.
At that hearing, fiscal depute Alison Young told the court that Henderson, of Stewart Street, Nairn would shout and swear at the woman, and twice seized her by the neck, restricting her breathing.
The woman documented the abuse in Snapchat messages to friends, recording some of her injuries inflicted by him.
The court heard the final straw followed an argument on March 21, when the couple went to a wooded area near Henderson’s home.
He began pulling at her clothes, causing her to fall to the ground.
The woman then sent a text message to friends that read: “I’m scared, I don’t know how to leave. I don’t know how to get out of here, please help.”
When police found her, officers saw she had “black eyes”.
Defence solicitor advocate Neil Wilson told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client – a first offender – was in a new relationship.
"It seems to be going well and there are no concerns," he said."Without attaching blame, the previous relationship was ill-advised, doomed from the start, volatile and short-lived"
Sheriff Matheson ordered Henderson to carry out 210 hours of unpaid community work, placed him under social work supervision for two years and imposed a 30-month non-harassment order.
