Grahame Anthony Evans pleaded guilty to strangulation

The identity of a serial domestic violence offender who tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend and waved a knife in her face can be revealed after a judge warned he was a danger to future women who fell for his charms.

A man was sentenced for a number of domestic violence offences.

A serial domestic abuser who strangled his partner and threatened her with a knife has been sentenced.

Grahame Anthony Evans pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court to two counts of threatening violence, one count of strangulation, one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault when he faced Hervey Bay District Court this week.

The court heard the offences were committed on several different occasions.

Evans had been in a relationship with the woman for about four months at the time, when she was 31 and he was 48.

During the first incident, Evans had gone to the woman’s house and accused of her lying about going out that night before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her down.

He was pushed off by the woman’s mother and he later sent threatening messages, the court heard.

The following day Evans tried to contact the woman, who ignored his calls.

He threatened to send people there “out of frustration”, the court heard.

The woman later met with Evans, approaching his car where they spoke for a short time before he became angry, and he pulled out a knife and threatened her.

She moved away, then he drove towards her and stopped the car before waving a knife in her face.

A number of days later, Evans and the woman were speaking when he became angry.

He grabbed her by the neck and hair and pulled her down to the ground and pinned her down before he let her go.

The woman went with him back to the car and they drove out of the car park, when he threatened to drive the car off a cliff.

After kicking the woman, he used his hand to hold her down.

Grabbing her around the throat, he squeezed until she had difficulty breathing and her vision went blurry, the court heard.

He then spat on the woman before punching her twice and continuing to threaten her.

Grahame Anthony Evans pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening violence, one count of strangulation, one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault when he faced Hervey Bay District Court this week.

The woman told her sister about the offending, and she was taken to hospital where she was found to have bruising to her right eye, elbow and bruises on her arms, legs and back.

Police became involved and a warrant was issued for Evan’s arrest.

He was located and arrested on October 25, 2023, the court heard.

The court heard Evans had himself been the victim of physical and emotional abuse when he was growing up.

He was a father of four adult children and had the capacity to employed, but his offending interrupted his employment, the court heard.

Judge Michael Burnett described Evans’ crimes as a “significant body of offending”.
He said Evans had a history of domestic violence against a number of former partners.

Judge Burnett said there was a need to protect the community as he seemed to have learned absolutely no lessons from the previous terms of imprisonment imposed on him.

He said it was “inevitable” that Evans would take up with another “poor unsuspecting female” upon his release from custody “and you are as much a threat to her as to these other women, unless you do something about your behaviours”.

Judge Burnett gave Evans a head sentence of four years and two months in prison.

He also activated a suspended sentence Evans had been serving with a year and nine months remaining on it in its entirety.

A parole eligibility date was set for October 25, 2024.

Bruce Highway breakthrough: $467m budget boost for hell highway

1600 tested in major police crackdown at car event