Jai Douglas Wright: ‘Wicked’ serial DV offender chokes girlfriend, holds her captive

‘Terrifying sort of conduct’: A Dalby man with a history of domestic violence has been jailed for choking, slapping and holding his girlfriend against her will in a frightening hours-long ordeal.

A serial domestic violence offender is behind bars after strangling, slapping and verbally abusing his girlfriend, before holding her captive in a terrifying hours-long ordeal.

Jai Douglas Wright strangled his girlfriend twice with both hands, after he went through her phone while she was having a shower on November 5, 2021.

The Dalby District Court heard the 33-year-old woman struggled to breathe the first time Wright strangled her, and he briefly let go before choking her again and pushing into her jugular.

Crown prosecutor Brendan White, who described the behaviour as “wicked, terrifying sort of conduct”, said Wright yelled at the woman called her a “sl-t” and said he should beat her up for “being a lying c--t”.

When the woman tried to run out of her own house, he blocked her at the door, grabbed and held onto her for 30 minutes and slapped her face.

“He said ‘sit the f--k down, I’ll beat you up and break your nose’.”

The court heard the Dalby man blocked the woman’s escape attempts and refused to let her leave, before she finally gave up and went to bed.

Jai Douglas Wright f. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Wright left five minutes after the woman went to bed, but returned the following day to get his belongings.

While there he tried to rip the locked screen door off, and tore the doorbell camera off the house and threw it at the front door.

Wright has a history of similar offending, and in 2015 was sentenced for assaulting the mother of his child, and punching a second partner in the back and stomach in 2018.

Defence barrister Frank Martin said the woman suffered minimal injuries, including scratches and bruising, and maintained his client stopped choking this victim when she told him she couldn’t breathe.

Judge Nathan Jarro condemned the Dalby man for his “terrifying” behaviour.

“You must realise domestic violence is not a normal part of today’s society,” he said.

“Your history isn’t impressive and you shouldn’t be proud of it.”

Write, who had 263 days in pre-sentence custody declared pleaded guilty to two counts of strangulation, deprivation of liberty, assault, wilful damage, possessing drugs and two counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

He was sentenced to three years’ jail, with a parole eligibility date set for November 21, 2022.