Paul Pressland, a Sandbanks property developer, has been acquitted by a jury at Salisbury Crown Court of strangling his estranged wife Gemma Martin during a domestic row on 1 December 2024. The case centred on a dispute arising from the couple's divorce proceedings, which became heated after hosting Martin's parents for Sunday lunch. The jury deliberated for just one hour before reaching its verdict, with Pressland maintaining throughout that he acted in self-defence.

The prosecution alleged that Pressland punched Martin in the ribs, pinned her against a door, and squeezed her neck until her eyes "bulged". Pressland contested this, claiming that Martin initiated the altercation by throwing Ugg slippers at him whilst he brushed his teeth, and that the pair then struggled against walls and furniture. Martin had drawn up a handwritten "wish list" for the divorce settlement including a £1 million home, a £35,000 Range Rover, and £60,000 annual salary. The couple married in 2022 and had consumed five bottles of wine amongst six people over approximately five hours before the incident.