At the High Court in Glasgow, Lady Poole imposed a 9 years extended sentence on Daniel Torrie after the offender pled guilty to assault to injury and danger of life. The extended sentence comprises of 6 years custodial term with a 3 years extension period.
On Sentencing Lady Poole made the following remarks in court:
"Daniel Brandon Torrie you plead guilty to a serious offence of assault to injury and danger of life on your former partner.
On 17 November 2025 you went to your victim’s home. She had not given you permission to be in her home at that time, but when she returned after being out, she found you there. There was an argument, and then you carried out a horrific attack on her. You dragged her to the floor and pinned her there. You punched her repeatedly on the head and body, bit her on the face, and struck her head repeatedly on the floor. You compressed her neck, restricting her breathing. The attack went on for some time before you let her leave her home to escape you. You had been drinking and taking drugs prior to the offence, but that is an aggravating factor.
Your victim should have been safe in her own home, but instead she was violently attacked by you. She says that one of the hardest things for her to understand and accept is that someone she was involved with for about two years could do this to her. In her words “I knew him, went above and beyond for him, trusted him and had a relationship with him, yet he became capable of using extreme violence against me”. She was terrified during the attack. You endangered her life, and she thought she was going to die.
You also left her with serious injuries. She had multiple injuries to her face and body, including bite marks on her face and bruising round her neck. She suffered severe headaches for several days after the attack, and struggled to speak because of soreness in her throat. She has provided a victim impact statement which describes the devastating long term effects of what you did on her physical and emotional health, her family and her life as a whole. She struggles with sleep, and has headaches, panic attacks and tinnitus. She feels insecure and finds it difficult to trust people, particularly men.
You have previous convictions for serious assaults involving injury, and domestic aggravations to two previous offences. You have offended against another woman you were in a relationship with. While your previous offending has all been dealt with in the sheriff court, it has involved periods of imprisonment imposed on four separate occasions, and you have previously been tried on indictment. You had only been out of prison for 3 months before you again committed this serious offence.
I ordered a criminal justice social work report to assist me with sentencing you. You were assessed as maximum in terms of risk and needs, with future analogous offending highly likely. The assessor considers that you pose a significant risk of serious harm.
I have taken into account everything said in mitigation, including documents produced on your behalf. I note that you are a 27 year old man, and have had many problems in your life including neglect, abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, and homelessness. You are estranged from some family members and have mental health issues, although you have supportive grandparents. You have a significant history of adverse childhood experiences, which have resulted in emotional dysregulation. This provides a partial explanation, although not excuse, for your offending. A report produced on your behalf makes a strong case for therapeutic intervention, and after discussion with your counsel, the court will send a copy to the prison where you are currently held.
It is to your credit that despite the many difficulties you have faced, you have some school qualifications and a history of work in the fishing industry. You are remorseful. You have written to the court accepting that there is no excuse for what you have done, and apologising to your victim. You describe this attack as a turning point in your life. The charge nurse in prison reports engagement with addictions and mental health services there. As a result you have been sober for 11 months, an achievement you should be proud of. You have shown insight by acknowledging that to change you have to want to make a change, and that the key to your rehabilitation is staying off drink and drugs. A residential prison officer gives a positive report of your progress in prison. These are all mitigating factors I take into account.
Nevertheless, the courts take this type of domestic abuse seriously. Head injuries of this nature, caused by striking a victim’s head repeatedly on the floor or punching in the head, are potentially life threatening. Strangling somebody inevitably creates a real and justified fear of death. To make matters worse, this is not your first victim of domestic abuse. A significant prison sentence is merited.
Given your history of offending, and the nature and circumstances of this offence, I do not consider that the normal conditions of licence would adequately protect the public from the risk of serious harm from you on your release. I therefore impose an extended sentence on you of a total of 9 years. The custodial part of your
extended sentence is 6 years, reduced from a headline of 8 years. The headline sentence includes 6 months for the partner aggravation, and the reduction gives credit for your guilty plea, tendered 8 months after your first appearance on petition. The extension period is three years, when you will be on licence on conditions fixed by the Scottish Ministers. If you fail to comply with the conditions, the licence may be revoked and you may be returned to custody; and you may also be sentenced for any offence committed while on licence. Your sentence is backdated to 18 November 2025, the date you were first remanded in custody in connection with this offence. You remain subject to the non-harassment order I imposed on 31 July 2026”.
