Mathew Joseph Dow jailed in Gladstone after strangling woman

A Queensland man who has now inflicted domestic violence on five of his partners, is behind bars after a judge described him as “a mean-spirited pig towards women.”

A man has been jailed in a Gladstone court for his domestic violence offending against a fifth partner. Generic image.

A Queensland man who had inflicted domestic violence on four previous partners took down his fifth victim by strangling her to the point where she lost consciousness, Gladstone District Court has heard.

The latest woman to fall victim to Mathew Joseph Dow’s wrath had never experienced domestic violence before and she had “only heard about it in the media.”

She had “no idea” about 47-year-old Dow’s past, had only been in a relationship with him for about a month, and on the day of the offending, Dow became angry at her and she did not know why.

The court heard Dow pushed her and hit her across the face with a thong, causing her immediate pain and she was not able to hear anything briefly.

The woman fell to the ground and curled into the foetal position.

Later in the evening, Dow strangled her to the point where she lost her breath and “blacked out.”

The woman did not know what triggered that incident either, the court heard.

The matters were reported to police the following day and Dow denied the allegations, saying the woman had inflicted the injuries (marks and swelling) upon herself.

“There seems to be no explanation for why you did either of these things toward her which is of considerable concern,” Judge Jeff Clarke said.

The domestic violence offences Dow pleaded guilty to in June were assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, and strangulation.

The court heard Dow was on parole at the time of his offending and he had consumed drugs and alcohol on the day of the incidents.

It was told Dow had a 13-page criminal history which Judge Clarke described as “very extensive and incredibly disturbing.”

“But the most concerning feature of your criminal history is your propensity to commit offences of domestic violence,” Judge Clarke said.

“I think that I counted 13 previous convictions and I’m told that you have offended against four former domestic partners - this was now the 5th (domestic partner) in these offences that I’m to deal with you for here today.”

Generic photo of a woman who is the victim of domestic violence.

The court heard Dow’s fifth DV victim had become “quite withdrawn and isolated” since his attacks on her and she had difficulty speaking because of the harm she had suffered.

“And most concerningly, she says that she had no idea that you had this history and that you had offended against other domestic partners, which is incredibly unfortunate - seems to defeat the purpose of making domestic violence orders nationally recognised,” Judge Clarke said.

“It’s supposed to occur so that people can be aware when they commence relationships with people, so they can know about their past, but sadly that doesn’t appear to have happened here.”

The court heard Dow had been in pre-sentence custody since this offending happened (175 days).

It was told Dow had “numerous proficiencies” in relation to employment including having previously worked as a mining supervisor as a rigger.

Barrister Maree Willey said Dow knew he needed to stop drinking alcohol if he was to avoid offending in a similar way again.

“It provides no excuse for his offending,” Ms Willey added.

The solicitor tendered documentation to show Dow had previously engaged with professional services in relation to his alcohol issues.

Judge Clarke said “unfortunately with all due respect” he had not heard anything about Dow’s interest in receiving treatment for his “main” problem - “...you’re such a mean-spirited pig towards the women that you’re in relationships with and you’re going to have to deal with that.

“It simply doesn’t belong in a civilised community - no woman, man or child deserves to be treated in the way you’ve treated this lady quite frankly.”

Judge Clarke sentenced Dow to three years’ jail and set a parole eligibility date of June 9, 2024.