Lance Douglas Roberts plead not guilty to assault charges in Hervey Bay Court

A former fishing boat deckhand felt her head was going to “pop off” the night her ex-partner and boss allegedly wrapped his hands around her neck during an ugly fight, a court has heard.

Lance Douglas Roberts leaves Hervey Bay District Court on August 29, 2023

Editor‘s Note: On Friday, September 1, 2023, a jury found Mr Roberts not guilty of all charges.

Click here to read the outcome of the trial

The trial of a Urangan man, accused of trying to strangle his former partner during an ugly fight, has started in Hervey Bay.

Lance Douglas Rovers has pleaded not guilty to five counts of strangulation and assault.

The court heard he and the alleged victim had been in a “volatile” relationship for more than 20 years and she’d once worked for him as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat before later becoming his carer.

The charges stem from an argument on June 24, 2022 but the former couple had wildly different versions for what led to the fight the same day they had been driving from Mr Roberts’ Urangan home to a drag racing event in Bernaraby, 23km west of Gladstone.

The alleged victim told the court the argument happened because she spent $17 buying food for her autistic eight-year-old grandson and that Mr Roberts had told her it “would come out of his pocket”.

Defence lawyer Tristan Carlos however asked Ms Conard if the argument had instead arisen over a “glass pipe” being handed to her by her granddaughter to which she replied that was "untrue” and “you may not suggest that”.

Crown Prosecutor Joshua Francis told the court the argument continued during the couple’s journey to Benaraby and escalated to the point where, at a service station “20-30kms” from their destination, Mr Roberts turned the car around and headed back to Urangan.

Mr Francis said shortly after arriving back at his property, Mr Roberts allegedly confronted Ms Conard while she was lying down on a bed and began abusing her, calling her a “narcissist” and telling her to “get out” of the home.

He said Mr Roberts was then alleged to have climbed on top of his partner and began pushing his hands into her head.

The alleged victim said she felt as though her head was going to “pop off”.

She claimed Mr Roberts then put a hand around her throat and began to “strangle” her while shouting “I f*****g love you” repeatedly.

The second he loosened his grip she “screamed at the top of her lungs”, the court was told.

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The alleged victim told the court Mr Roberts then pushed her to the ground and “squeezed” her face while “smiling” at her.

She also said that during the alleged assault, Mr Roberts verbally abused her calling her a “junkie”, a “s**t” and a “nutcase” among other insults.

She told the court she wanted to “leave” but “had nowhere to go” and “could not let her grandchildren see her like that” so she spent the rest of the night in the backyard before returning to her bed at midnight after Mr Roberts had fallen asleep.

She spent the following day in bed before being taken to her daughter’s house where police were called.

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The alleged victim denied being intoxicated during the incident, telling Mr Carlos she had not drank in “over 23 years”.

She also denied smoking “cannabis” in the aftermath of the incident.

Mr Carlos told the court the argument resulted in the alleged victim locking herself in a bathroom with a “yellow pointed knife” and screaming at Mr Roberts “If you want to see blood you will see blood”.

The court was shown graphic pictures taken by police of the injuries the woman was alleged to have suffered.

These injuries included “a lacerated lip”, “marks on her neck” and facial bruising.

Mr Carlos asked the woman if the marks on her throat may have been a result of her lupus condition but she denied this.

The court was told of three previous occasions in 2001, 2007 and 2009 where Mr Roberts had allegedly acted abusively towards the woman.

She told the court because of the 2007 incident “she does not have any feeling in her left eye” and refused medical treatment because she was “scared”.

The court was also told the 2009 incident occurred while she was receiving treatment for chemotherapy, and it left her with a broken wrist.

The pair were said to have been in a 23-year “volatile” relationship and were separated at the time of the incident the court heard.

Mr Roberts had also served as an employer of the woman when she worked as a “deckhand” on his commercial fishing boat.

Since October 2009, the woman had been Mr Roberts’ carer and received funding from Centrelink.

The trial continues.