A Sandbanks property developer has been found not guilty of allegedly strangling his estranged wife during a dispute over their divorce at their £3 million home.
Paul Pressland, 63, said he was relieved after being cleared of attacking Gemma Martin, 52, but insisted the case had left “no winners”.
The company director was accused of gripping his wife’s throat during a heated confrontation in the en suite bathroom, allegedly squeezing so tightly that her eyes “bulged”.
The argument followed a Sunday roast at the couple’s Poole, Dorset, mansion, where they had entertained Ms Martin’s parents on December 1, 2024.
The court heard that Ms Martin, whom her estranged husband described as “Amazonian”, threw her Ugg slippers at him while he was brushing his teeth.
Prosecutors claimed Mr Pressland responded by punching her in the ribs, forcing her against a door and choking her until she fell to the floor.
Mr Pressland rejected the allegation and maintained that he had acted to protect himself.
He told the court that Ms Martin hit him in the face with a slipper before striking him again and pulling his hair. He said the pair became embroiled in a struggle, “bouncing off the walls” before ending up on the floor.
Gemma Martin and Paul Pressland pictured on their wedding day. The company director was cleared of allegedly strangling his estranged wife during a drunken dispute over their divorce
Ms Martin arrives at court. Her estranged husband described her as “Amazonian”, while the court heard she threw her Ugg slippers at him as he brushed his teeth
He said a bruise on Ms Martin’s back was caused when she was pushed into a door handle during the struggle.
Mr Pressland also suggested that the red marks on her neck could have been caused by a wetsuit she had worn during a charity swim earlier that day.
He had previously told the jury that he was the victim rather than the aggressor, describing Ms Martin as a strong and athletic woman who boxed and took part in personal training.
Mr Pressland said: “I did not use excessive force. I did what I believed was necessary to calm the situation and defend myself from someone who was attacking me.
“Gemma has been described by friends as Amazonian. She is extremely fit, works out, boxes and does personal training. I was defending myself.”
After deliberating for about an hour at Salisbury Crown Court, the jury found the father-of-four not guilty.
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Pressland said: “I am relieved, but I am sorry for everything everyone has had to endure, especially my ex-stepsons.
“You have to place your trust in the jury system to establish the truth.”
Ms Martin had taken part in a charity swim on the day of the dispute with her estranged husband
The court heard that the mother-of-three had written a handwritten “wish list” outlining what she wanted from the bitter divorce, including a £1 million home
He said he could not comment on whether the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) should have brought the charges against him in the first place.
The couple got together in 2014 and married in 2022. In 2024, Ms Martin sought a divorce on the grounds of adultery, the jury was told.
The court heard how the mother-of-three drew up a handwritten ‘wish list’ of things she wanted from the acrimonious divorce.
Items included a £1million home, a £60,000 annual salary, a £35,000 Range Rover and vehicles for her two sons.
Mr Pressland said he was disappointed to find out from an ‘office gossip’ that his wife had filed divorce paperwork before he was informed.
Tensions reached boiling point when the couple hosted Ms Martin’s parents for an early Christmas lunch before they went to Thailand for three months.
Mr Pressland said he had opened a bottle of red wine to pour some in the gravy for the roast beef and had ‘a glass or two’ while cooking.
He ‘wasn’t keeping tabs’ of who drank what, but said five bottles of wine were drunk between six people over the course of about five hours.
Ms Martin claimed his mood changed after her parents left at around 8.30pm and a ‘heated conversation’ ensued in their en suite bathroom.
She said: ‘I remember him squeezing and everything going a little blank. I couldn’t breathe, I could feel my head spinning and my eyes bulging.
‘I just thought “this is it.” I felt overpowered.
‘He let go after about five seconds and I fell to the floor. I started screaming, hyperventilating and went into a panic attack. I was in shock from severe trauma.’
But Mr Pressland claimed he acted in self-defence when Ms Martin burst into the en suite and began calling him names.
He told the court: ‘She struck me with her fists, then went out and came back and did it again. She grabbed my hair, being vain I didn’t want my hair wrenched out so I went with the flow, if she pulled I went with it.
‘I was being pulled around by my hair, backwards and forwards towards the master bedroom. I said, “You’re hurting me, can you let go.”‘
