Vile troll’s threatening texts against David Sharaz, Brittany Higgins revealed
Shocking messages threatening to “bury” Brittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz - and even harm their dog - have been revealed in full for the first time.
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The vile messages sent by a lonely 51-year-old troll, including threats to kill Brittany Higgins and her dog, as well as hate-filled messages directed at celebrities, companies and politicians, can be revealed for the first time after he was jailed this week.
David William Wonnocott was jailed for three years and two months on Wednesday over a 10-month campaign of hate during which he spewed racist and homophobic bile on the internet - including threats to kill.
Wonnocott was posting from his home at Banora Point in the Tweed region of northern NSW, sometimes using his mother’s Facebook account to post, court documents have revealed.
As well as threatening the likes of Ms Higgins, her partner David Sharaz and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, court documents seen by NewsWire reveal that he sent bizarre private messages or posted on the profiles of businesses such as Qantas, Woolworths and the Daily Mail, as well as sending threatening messages to celebrities like Sam Smith and Phoebe Bridgers.
In one homophobic rant, he said he needed to “get a gun with a few thousand rounds of ammo and go down to this Mardi gras crap”.
In another, he asked whether someone could supply him with guns so he could kill members of the transgender community.
He pleaded guilty to two sets of charges. He pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to threaten to kill Mr Sharaz, Ms Higgins and their dog Kingston in April 2022.
He also pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace or harass after from July 2022 to February 2023 he on 45 occasions posted on the public profile or sent messages to businesses and people over Instagram and Facebook.
“BURY YOU BOTH”
In April 2022, Wonnocott logged onto Instagram, using the handle @davidw8009, and slid into Mr Sharaz’s direct messages.
“She’s a useless lying c*** who wasn’t raped,” Wonnocott began.
Over the course of the exchange, Wonnocott vowed to kill and “bury” both Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins, and “chop up” their pet cavoodle
The messages are contained within a statement of agreed facts tendered to the court during sentencing proceedings in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court this week.
Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins reported the threats to ACT Police.
The couple then spent thousands of dollars installing security cameras and alarms on their home.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Sharaz told Judge John Pickering that even today, the threats continue to haunt them.
“The death threats levelled at my family have forever altered our sense of safety in public and at home,” Mr Sharaz wrote.
“It has fundamentally changed the way we navigate daily life. What were mundane tasks are now tainted with an undercurrent of hypervigilance and fear.”
He said that he and his now-wife had been subjected to abuse ever since she went public with allegations that she was sexually assaulted inside Parliament House.
However, he said: “it was the escalation of death threats by Mr Wonnocott that made us terrified to leave the house alone and impacted our day-to-day lives.”
He added: “Over weeks and months, we became petrified that the next person we would encounter would be the nameless, faceless stranger who had threatened to end our lives.”
“Someone fed on a diet of hate and misogyny - whose words might cease being a threat and instead become a reality.”
He said that Ms Higgins refused to leave the house for weeks at a time, it forced them to change their routines and Ms Higgins’ mother moved in with them to “help make us feel safe”.
He said the threats played a part in their decision to move to France. They have now moved back to Australia.
“Sending death threats online is not a joke or a harmless act,” Mr Sharaz said.
“There are very real implications for the people on the receiving end of this type of abuse.”
LENIENCY
Wonnocott’s barrister Susan Kluss told the court when he was sending messages, he was living with his elderly parents, who he was caring for at the time.
Ms Kluss said he was socially isolated due to the pandemic and “all of his world was on the internet”.
However, Judge Pickering noted that by the time Wonnocott was sending his messages, Australia’s international borders were back open.
The court was told Wonnocott had been diagnosed with a persistent depressive disorder.
But the court heard he had also previously been given multiple warnings and afforded leniency by the courts after being sentenced for similar offences.
The court heard that he sent the messages to Mr Sharaz just 15 days before he appeared in the District Court for an appeal against a sentence for a similar offence for sending harassing messages.
“You may get leniency the first time, the second time, the third time, but after a while you won’t get it anymore and you will have to serve time,” Judge John Pickering said.
Wonnocott was operating two Instagram accounts and using his mother’s Facebook account.
He did so without his mother’s knowledge.
In a bigoted rant, he used the account @Kingdavidwonnocott to tell actor and comedian Jaboukie Young-White: “Kill yourself you black piece of s***”.
He told Woolworths: “You c***s will all burn in hell for eternity”.
And he asked another account: “Do you guys no (sic) anyone I can join who can supply me with guns” so that he could kill transgender people.
There were further examples of his homophobic views posted from his mother’s Facebook account.
In an early morning rant on the profile of Daily Mail Australia, he said: “stop promoting Christian Wilkins... he wont be around much longer… he will be getting a fatal case of monkey pox”.
He further told the online publication: “you people will all burn in hell for eternity”.
He told another user that he was forced to change his phone number so he could create new social media accounts.
“I was on Instagram and have a permanent ban now as they know all my accounts and mobile number so I can’t start a new account until I get a new phone,” he said.
His revolting rants including multiple threats to kill, urged several people to commit suicide and threatening to kill homosexuals.
Wonnocott used another Instagram account to tell singer Sam Smith: “You need to eat a bullet”.
He also posted to Phoebe Bridgers’ page: “Can’t wait to see you die c***”.
Wonnocott posted on Qantas’ page: “please get AIDS” and “F*** I hope your planes start crashing”.
THE ARREST
Wonnocott’s revolting behaviour was finally brought to a halt in February 2023 when he sent a series of homophobic and threatening messages to Mr Greenwich.
“Me and my mates want to take you for a walk at North head,” Wonnocott said, in reference to the 1988 killing of gay mathematician Scott Johnson, whose body was found at the base of the North Head cliffs at Manly.
Wonnocott added: “Please get (monkeypox) or full blown aids.”
He was arrested two days later and told police that he wanted to “scare” Sharaz but claimed he was not an actual threat to him.
He further told police: “I shouldn’t have done it, but what’s done is done.”
Wonnocott was on Wednesday sentenced to a maximum of three years and two months in jail, with a one-year and four-month non-parole period.
He will first be eligible for release in June 2026.
Originally published as Vile troll’s threatening texts against David Sharaz, Brittany Higgins revealed
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