Identities of shocking domestic violence offenders sentenced in SA courts

From a man who torched his ex’s house to terrifying rampages, these are some of the SA domestic violence offenders who have been sentenced in court in the past year.

Dozens of domestic abusers have been sentenced in South Australian courts for appalling acts of violence in the past year.

SA Police Senior Sergeant Sharon Walker-Roberts said domestic violence, by its nature, was disempowering and damaging to victims.

“Each DV incident/report is initially dealt with by front line responders according to the individual circumstances and the assessed risk to the victim,” she said.

“In all cases, police are required to take positive action to prevent an escalation of violence, to meet the safety needs of victims and children, and to hold an offender accountable for their actions.”

Snr-Sgt Walker-Roberts said officers responding to abusers could report or arrest them pr refuse bail to try to stop their behaviour.

“The action police take should be in balance with the type and severity of offending,” she said.

However, she noted “some domestic violence-related behaviours do not meet the threshold of criminal offending and court action is not possible”.

Police can refer people to voluntary support services but only the courts can direct offenders to attend mandatory behaviour change programs, such as those run by the Correctional Services Department for about 200 men a year.

These are some of the horrific domestic violence cases to go through SA courts recently and the sentences the perpetrators received.

Tymon Murphy

Tymon Murphy. Photo: Instagram

A father who stomped on his then partner’s arm and held a razor to her throat was told by a judge he remains a danger to the community.

Tymon Harold Murphy, 30, was jailed for over five years for the violent rampage after the court heard his rehabilitation prospects were bleak.

During sentencing, the District Court heard Murphy and the victim were in an on and off relationship between March 2021 and May 2022.

The court heard Murphy and his then-partner had an argument in May 2022 and he pinned her against the wall and headbutted her face, causing a split lip.

Later that month, Murphy and the victim had another argument.

“You removed a knife … and held the knife against her neck,” Judge Paul Muscat said.

Murphy then grabbed the back of her head and threw her to the ground.

“You then stomped on her left arm … and kicked the back of her right leg,” Judge Muscat said.

The court heard Murphy forced his way into the bathroom where the victim was and held a razor to her throat.

Murphy then put her hands around her neck and squeezed, restricting her breathing.

While Murphy was in custody he asked a friend in August 2022 to contact his former partner and request she drop the charges in exchange for $5000.

Murphy, of Hackham West, pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including endangering life, assaults and preventing a person to attend as a witness.

Murphy was jailed for five years and 11 months, with a non-parole period of three years and seven months.

The sentence was backdated to October 12, 2022.

Steven Butler

Steven Butler. Photo: Facebook

A man who left his partner “spitting blood” after she blacked out during one of his attacks was told by a judge he needs to be deterred from doing it to another partner.

Steven Shaun Butler, 33, was eligible for parole after he violently bashed his long-term partner and mother of his two children.

During sentencing, the District Court heard Butler forcibly pushed the victim in 2016, causing her to fall backwards.

The court heard the couple were arguing in April 2018 when Butler ran at her.

The victim then went inside and locked the door, with Butler encouraging her to unlock it – ensuring he wouldn’t hurt her.

“On unlocking the door, you walked through the door and punched her in the stomach, winding her and causing her to double over in pain,” Chief Judge Michael Evans said.

The court heard the victim was asleep in bed when she woke up to Butler standing over her with a baseball bat on July 8, 2021 at Hillbank.

“Her next memory was sitting in the shower cubicle spitting out blood and wiping it on her pyjamas,” Chief Judge Evans said.

Butler then locked the door before leaving and took the victim’s keys, with the victim running out the back door and calling to the neighbour for assistance.

Butler pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one count of causing harm.

Chief Judge Evans sentenced Butler to two years and one month jail, with a non-parole period of one year and three months.

The sentence was backdated to July 11, 2021.

Korbin Blane

Korbin Blane. Photo: Facebook

A young “controlling” father with “clear anger management problems” who deformed his partner’s face before asking her to drop the charges against him was jailed.

In September 2022, Elizabeth father Korbin Blane was staying in an Adelaide apartment with his then-girlfriend when, in a jealous rage, he launched a violent attack against her.

During sentencing, the District Court heard Blane’s then-18-year-old partner was unconscious before he broke her nose in two places.

“You had been drinking while the two of you were out together. You became jealous and angry,” Judge Paul Muscat said.

“As your partner regained consciousness and was lying on her side, you kicked her twice to the face with your right foot.”

The court then heard Blane had become so enraged that she was “bleeding everywhere,” that he then punched her again.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to causing harm with intent and dissuading a witness in November last year.

Judge Muscat said Blane had asked his girlfriend to communicate with him while he was in custody, but had threatened to take his own life if she didn’t withdraw the charges against him.

He jailed Blane for two years, two months and 22 days, with a non parole period of 13 months.

The sentence was backdated to Blane’s arrest in September 2022.

Clinton Bannister

Clinton Bannister. Picture: SA Police

A drunk, high and “extremely violent” man sent his ex-girlfriend a barrage of threatening text messages then torched her home after they broke up, a court heard.

Clinton Bradley Bannister, 39, stole the woman’s keys during an argument then returned the next morning to set fire to a washing basket in the main bedroom of her unit, causing $170,000 damage in September 2021.

In sentencing Bannister for the offence of arson, Judge Liesl Kudelka said he sent his former partner 65 “threatening and very scary” text messages after an argument at her inner southern suburbs home.

“You said you were going to burn the house to the ground and you had three cans of Zippo lighter fluid. You said you were an extremely violent person,” she said.

She said police had advised the woman to stay elsewhere “for her own safety” and Bannister, a father of two, was captured on CCTV leaving the home after starting the blaze.

Judge Kudelka jailed Bannister for four years, 10 months and 13 days, with a non-parole period of three years, nine months and 19 days.

Seth Hubbard

A violent thug killed a pet rabbit after he hit his partner with it so hard that its blood splattered on the walls, a court heard.

Seth Deegan Hubbard, 20, tried to argue six months in jail was “manifestly excessive”, despite multiple acts of violence which left lasting impacts on his victims.

Hubbard was sentenced to 10 months jail, and ordered to serve six months, with the remaining four suspended on a two-year good behaviour bond.

In a published judgment online, Justice Adam Kimber said Hubbard became aggressive towards his partner during an argument in February 2023.

“He removed her pet rabbit from its cage and, holding it by its hind legs, hit his partner with the rabbit more than once and with such force as to cause the rabbit’s blood to spatter on the walls of the room in which the argument was occurring,” Justice Kimber said.

The rabbit died as a result of its injuries.

Hubbard appealed his sentence and argued it was “manifestly excessive”, due to his mental health issues at the time of the offending, the fact he had gained insight and his partner being five weeks’ pregnant at the time of sentence.

Justice Kimber said Hubbard’s sentence was not unreasonable or unjust and dismissed the appeal.

Stephen Cailes

Stephen Cailes. Picture: Facebook

A possessive and controlling man who choked and suffocated his partner, and threatened to cut off her fingers with a garden tool, avoided jail – outraging the woman he tormented.

Stephen Frances Cailes’ former partner called for the state’s domestic violence laws to be overhauled in the wake of his suspended 16-month prison term.

His case adds to statistics that show the damning lack of success strangulation laws, introduced four years ago, have had.

Just 1.9 per cent of strangulation charges end in conviction, with only 1.5 per cent of those offenders sentenced to immediate prison terms.

Cailes’ ex – known as “Ms P” – told The Advertiser that SA Police said she was fortunate to still be alive when she finally escaped him.

“I was told I was a high-risk victim of domestic violence with a high possibility of being murdered … that moment and those words I remember so clearly,” she said.

“His sentence was the biggest kick in the guts and such a let-down for myself, my family and other future victims … these pathetic sentences are just letting people get away with it.

“I am so terrified for myself and for the next woman who encounters this monster.”

Cailes, 35, was found guilty at trial of unlawful choking, assault and aggravated threatening to cause harm, and faced a maximum seven-year prison term.

He used violence and threats to controlled Ms P’s social media use, friendships and weight – when he proposed, she agreed as she was “frightened that saying no” would lead to harm.

In April 2021, Cailes suffocated Ms P by pushing her face into their sofa and also choked her on their bed.

He also held the open blades of a pair of garden secateurs against the thumb webbing of her hand and threatened that she would “lose a finger or a toe”.

In sentencing, District Court Judge Emily Telfer deducted one year and 11 months from Cailes’ sentence to account for time spent in custody on remand and on home detention bail.

Nicholas Harter

After spending less than four hours in custody following his arrest, a South-East man dodged jail despite being warned he could have killed his partner, a court heard.

Nicholas James Harter, 21, who the court heard was his father’s “punching bag” growing up, was warned by the Magistrate that he could end up just as bad as him “if not worse” if he continues to violently “snap”.

Police prosecutors told the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court Harter had on two separate occasions grabbed his partner by the hair before violently bashing her.

On January 5, last year after coming home from work, Harter laid into his partner after snapping for “no reason”.

During the assault, Harter grabbed his victim by the neck.

“She didn’t lose consciousness but there was some light-headedness,” a police prosecutor said.

“(He) eventually let go and then threw her onto the ground — and punched her in the head several times while he had hold of her hair.”

In a separate incident days later, while watching TV, Harter began verbally abusing his partner after she “stood up and sat next to him”, the court heard.

The woman raised her right arm in a bid to protect herself before Harter grabbed and twisted it and threatened to snap her wrist, the court heard.

“(He) grabbed the victim by the hair and pushed her head down on the lounge,” a police prosecutor said.

During the struggle the victim attempted to flee before she was “tackled to the ground” and punched several times in the back of the head, the court heard.

Harter pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault against his own spouse.

Harter was handed a four month and six-day prison sentence, which was suspended on an 18-month good behaviour bond.

Gary Keehn

Gary Keehn. Photo: Facebook

A man who held a broken ice pipe to his girlfriend’s throat in a terrifying assault was mirroring the behaviour of his own domestically abusive father, a court heard.

Gary Robert Keehn, 42, told the court he turned to illicit substances to cope with the past trauma he had endured.

The court heard the abuse occurred after the victim confronted Mr Keehn about his drug use.

Police said the woman was “pinned to the wall” by the man before the woman’s mother intervened, the court heard.

After the incident the woman went back with the defendant to his house, the court heard.

Police previously said that during the trip the woman received a text from a male friend – prompting the man to become so angry he deleted all male contacts in her phone.

While at his home the pair continued to argue before the defendant allegedly “straddled” the woman again.

“(He) held her shoulder and throat and pressed his thumb into her throat,” a police prosecutor said.

“(He) slapped the victim to the face.”

The court heard the man then smashed an ice pipe, holding the broken remains to her throat.

“If you ever leave me, speak to another man or if you call the cops I will kill you and burn your house down,” a police prosecutor said

Keehn pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated assault with a weapon.

Magistrate Koula Kossiavelous handed down a seven-month term of imprisonment backdating the sentence to Keehn’s arrest, meaning he was able to walk free from court.