Elgin Army veteran clawed wife’s tooth out in ‘petrifying’ attack, Inverness Sheriff Court hears

A woman has told of her terror after she had a tooth clawed out during an attack by her cross-dressing army veteran husband.

Samuel Cree, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, was “sweating profusely” as he attacked his wife of 19 years while wearing a pink bra.

After the attack ended, Rebecca Cree calmed her ex-husband down by convincing him to high-five her and make her a cup of tea.

Cree, from Elgin, then dressed up in a black mini skirt, black tights and ballerina shoes while waiting for military welfare officers to arrive.

Mrs Cree, who is now estranged from her 53-year-old ex-partner, told the trial that she was asleep in a bedroom in Inverness when he burst in.

She said: "He was sweating profusely and was wearing a pink bra, jogging bottoms and trainers.

"He was crazy - full of rage - yelling for me to lay back down and go to sleep.

“He pinned my arms down with his knees and started punching the side of my face.

"He then put his fingers in my mouth. I couldn't breathe. He clawed his hand as he took it out and I saw a tooth go flying out.

"I was calling for help because the window was slightly open. He passed me a towel to wipe the blood off me and I tried reverse psychology to calm things down.

"I said to him to give me a high five and we went downstairs. He made me a cup of tea and then went back upstairs to bring down a black bag with white polka dots.

"It was full of women's clothes and he changed into them before the padre and welfare officer came round.

"He said out of the blue: 'A red mist descended. I must stop killing my wife.'

“I thought he was beating the living daylights out of me to get rid of me. I was petrified."

After two army officers arrived and saw him in his female dress, Cree said "this is how I am”.

The army personnel, Barry Smith and Rev. Jeff Berry, both told the court that Cree seemed confused and they spent over an hour and a half with the couple trying to establish what happened.

They said that his explanation was that he woke up startled and thought the house was on fire.

Rev. Berry said: "He said he thought he was slapping his wife to wake her to get her out of the house, but he was actually punching her.

"He then apologised for punching."

At Inverness Sheriff Court, Cree denied assaulting his wife to her severe injury by punching her repeatedly on the head, placing his hand in her mouth and pulling out one of her teeth.

He was convicted by Sheriff David Sutherland of assault to injury which occurred in a house in Wimberley Way, Inverness, on June 20, 2023.

His defence lawyer John MacColl successfully argued there was no evidence that he breached a bail condition imposed by a police undertaking not to contact her.

Sentence was deferred until September 16 for a background and psychiatric report. His bail was continued.