Hervey Bay’s Ricky Francis Neeson pleaded guilty to attempted murder

After she asked for a divorce, a woman’s estranged husband snuck into her bedroom and cut her throat. Now, a court has heard the victim called police for help multiple times in the hours before the attack.

Enraged after his estranged wife asked him for a divorce, a Hervey Bay man let himself into her home, took a knife from the kitchen, went into her bedroom and cut her throat.

Ricky Francis Neeson, 59, pleaded guilty in Maryborough Supreme Court to one count of attempted murder.

It was revealed that the day before the attack, on August 5, 2020, Neeson had become abusive towards his wife, calling her a “s**t” after she asked for a divorce before police were called and he left.

After that, Neeson had returned to the Kawungan home on three occasions during the evening prior, forcing entry through the garage door on the first occasion, then leaving when police were called.

On the second occasion, he loitered outside the house. Police attended and he again left.

On the third occasion, when his wife came outside, Neeson said he wanted a phone charger and she told him she would give it to police.

Then, about 6am on August 6, Neeson arrived outside the home on his motorised scooter.

He jumped over the back fence and used a key to enter the home via the back door.

Neeson then went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and went into his wife’s bedroom.

She was asleep, but woke as he approached the bed with the intent of killing her, the court was told.

He lunged towards her, the court heard, and slashed her across the throat with such force the blade continued into the bed and left a mark.

Ricky Neeson was sentenced for attempted murder.

After the attack, he left the house and returned to his scooter, which he later abandoned.

Meanwhile his critically injured wife, who had been left with a 10-12cm cut across her throat, held a doona to the wound to stem the bleeding and sought help from others inside the home.

Emergency services were called and she was rushed to Hervey Bay Hospital where she underwent surgery.

She was then intubated as it was feared swelling in her airway would restrict her breathing.

Neeson handed himself into police 36 hours after the attack.

The court heard he walked into the police station and said he’d “come to confess, I’ve done something terrible to my wife”.

Neeson then made admissions to police after he surrendered, including that he had felt “pure rage” over his relationship breakdown.

In the lead up to the attack, Neeson had displayed many other concerning behaviours, including cyber stalking and watching his wife’s computer activity.

It was manipulative and an attempt to “control and monitor” his wife, the court was told.

After the attack, the woman had experienced anxiety and fear, locking herself in her bedroom every night.

Neeson had suffered from a major depressive disorder through much of his life.

He took medication to manage his depression and also suffered chronic abdominal and back pain from unsuccessful surgery.

Judge David Jackson said it was only by good fortune that the woman’s injuries weren’t more serious.

“Yours is a domestic violence offence of the most serious kind,” Judge Jackson said.

“Although the end result of the physical injuries to your wife were not catastrophic, that is not because of some inclination by you.

“Your offence was a deliberate action of control, by trying to take away your wife’s very life.”

Neeson was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with 635 days in pre-sentence custody declared as time served.

Outside the court, the woman spoke briefly, saying she was grateful to those who had come to her aid in the aftermath of the attack.

She said she was relieved by the sentence and would never want what had happened to her to happen to anyone else.