‘Could not breathe or scream’: Malcolm Kevin O’Neil pleads guilty to alcohol-fuelled bashing

A father with a shocking criminal history choked and bashed his partner while she held their child - after he crashed his car during a hunt for more booze.

A dad who has been in and out of jail for 21 years subjected his partner to horrific domestic violence as she held onto her baby.

Malcolm Kevin O’Neil, 54, pleaded guilty to a number of domestic violence and driving charges when he fronted the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday.

O’Neil had spent nearly half his life in and out of prison before assaulting his partner after losing control of his car while on the hunt for more booze.

The court heard O’Neil punched, choked and rendered the woman unable to breath or scream for help while she clutched their one-year-old baby.

young man throwing a punch

O’Neil pleaded guilty to one count of strangulation and one count of aggravated assault in relation to the September 3 attack.

He also pleaded guilty to a number of traffic offences including drive under disqualification, drive with prescribed alcohol with a child under 16 and aggravated drive with due care.

O’Neil was arrested after an argument at the Limestone Coast Caravan Park led him to get behind the wheel in search of more booze before crashing on the Jubilee Hwy where he bashed his partner of 20 years.

The blows to her head caused the woman to instantly see “stars”, the court heard.

“The victim states she got out of her car and checked on their son,” a police prosecutor said.

“She got in the front passenger seat with the child and the accused began to punch her to the right side of the face.

“The accused then got out of the car, walked over to the passenger seat and grabbed the victim around the throat with both hands.

“She could feel the pressure on her throat and she could not breathe or scream.”

Defence lawyer Lamorna Alexander said her client had difficulty accessing his schizophrenia medication while in custody and had been diagnosed with the condition 20 years ago.

O’Neil will appear in the Mount Gambier District Court in October in relation to his domestic violence charges while his driving matters will be addressed in November in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court.