Donna Cheree Palmer in court for assault occasioning bodily harm

A former Gympie teacher-aide’s “volatile” relationship with her daughter turned vicious the day she assaulted her so badly the police were called. Read what happened:

A former Gympie teacher aide pleaded guilty on Tuesday to assault, after a “volatile” relationship with her daughter turned violent when the then 49-year-old put her hand around the young woman’s throat.

Donna Cheree Palmer, also known as Donna Cheree Davies, now 51, faced Gympie District Court charged with common assault and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The court heard Palmer arrived at her 22-year-old daughter’s Monkland home on September 20, 2019, hoping to collect her 17-month-old granddaughter.

Sometime during her visit, an argument broke out between the two women, which escalated when Palmer placed her hand around her daughter’s throat.

She did not try to choke her daughter, who quickly managed to get out of her mother’s grip.

When Palmer tried to leave, her daughter blocked her exit and said “you aren’t going anywhere until the police arrive”.

Palmer then put her daughter in a headlock, which gave her a panic attack and left welts on her neck, the court heard.

She was taken to hospital shortly after, and discharged the same day.

On October 3, 2019, Palmer went to the police station, where she was charged and released on bail.

As a result of the incident, Palmer, who was a teacher aide at the time, lost her blue card and was suspended from work.

Palmer pleaded guilty to common assault and assault occasioning bodily harm in Gympie District Court on Tuesday.

Mr Turner described Palmer’s relationship with her daughter as “volatile”, and said his client had concerns over her daughter’s mental health and the impact it had on her granddaughter.

He described the incident as “spontaneous” and said it was “out of character” for his client to act the way she did.

Judge Glen Cash agreed with Mr Turner’s statement that the incident was “out of character”, and said jail was out of the question given Palmer’s age and lack of history.

Palmer was ordered to complete 80 hours community service over 12 months.

No conviction was recorded.