Abusive woman represents herself on DV matter

A woman has successfully defended herself against a charge of breaching a DVO by punching and hitting her former partner.

The defendant took a moment to recover outside Gympie Court before her matter reconvened.

It was an unusual scene in Gympie Magistrates Court last week when a woman alleged to have breached a domestic violence order represented herself, reportedly forgoing advice offered by three solicitors.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was unable to cross-examine the witness — her partner — who said she had physically assaulted him with an axe handle, and in doing so had breached a DVO.

The woman broke down crying several times throughout the proceedings, causing the court to briefly adjourn.

She pleaded guilty to failing to appear, and not guilty to contravening a DVO made against her in 2020.

Her former long term partner, who was living at her rental with the couple’s two young children, said she had been living in and out of the house for many weeks.

The woman’s former partner claimed she assaulted him with an axe handle and punched him at the rental they were living in with their children.

Around midday on June 27, 2024, the man claimed the woman “came home and asked me to leave, and I didn’t want to, so I tried to resist,” he said.

“She tried to force me out the front door, and then struck the back of my head with her fist.”

“I stumbled a bit”, the man said.

“She’s then grabbed an axe handle beside the front door and struck me in the thigh.

“She was screaming ‘get out of the house!’ I just went over to the lounge and sat there, and (she) then left.”

On July 5, the man reported the alleged incident to police.

It was an unusual scene in Gympie Magistrates Court last week when a woman alleged to have breached a domestic violence order represented herself, reportedly forgoing advice offered by three solicitors.

The prosecutor, having been shown an alleged image of bruising to the man’s thigh from the axe handle, said “they look quite severe in my opinion”.

The former partner said their relationship had started to fall apart months prior.

He was not listed as a tenant or resident of the rental property, but had been living there for years with the woman and their children.

The woman requested that body-worn footage from the police officer be played, and told the court that “it shows a whole different story.”

The video reportedly recorded on July 7, 2024 appeared to show two police officers at the home, informing her it had been alleged she had contravened her DVO.

The order was set to expire October 29, that year, just a few months after the incident.

After the footage was shown to the court, Magistrate Bevan Hughes asked the defendant what questions she had for the constable, to which she responded “I just want to go home”.

“Unfortunately, you can’t go in the middle of a hearing,” Mr Hughes told her.

“I just want to know why no one helped me,” she said.

The woman, a former assistant hotel manager, broke down in tears, and the court was briefly adjourned and then resumed.

She was found not guilty of contravening a DVO, and guilty of a failure to appear before court, but not further punished.