Man who tried to murder woman at hotel during weekend getaway jailed

A man who tried to kill a woman during a weekend break at a hotel in Edinburgh has been jailed for more than six years.

Sean Hendry attacked his victim in a room at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh’s Festival Square last February 22.

The 29-year-old hit the woman, clamped his hands around her neck, before forcing his fingers down her throat and then smothering her with a pillow.

He told her at one stage: “We are going to die tonight. I am going to slit your throat.”

The woman escaped when Hendry broke off the attack, and she ran screaming for help.

Hendry – who already had convictions for violence – was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.

He had previously pled guilty at a hearing in Edinburgh to an attempted murder charge.

Lord Renucci jailed him for a total of six years and three months, ordering him to be supervised for a further three years on his release.

The judge told him: “This was a savage, sustained, frightening and unprovoked attack.

“This was a terrifying ordeal for your victim. The level of fear she felt that night is clear from her reaction.”

The court heard how the pair had been spending the weekend at the hotel when Hendry became increasingly angry and aggressive towards the woman.

He then accused her of sending messages to other men before stopping her from leaving the room and carrying out the attack, which included punching her on the head and body.

Hendry stopped and initially claimed he was going to leap from a window, which allowed the woman to leave the run and shout for help.

She was found by a couple staying in the next room who took her inside.

Hendry discovered she was there and demanded to get in. He told police he “would get the jail” for what he had done.

He was later freed on an undertaking to appear in court the next month and also not to approach the woman.

But, within hours, he was in contact with her asking for his bank card.

He then turned up at her door and threatened to smash his way in with a vodka bottle.

The victim suffered a panic attack, and police were again called.

Hendry was also ordered not to contact or approach the woman for the next 15 years.

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