Ipswich parents Rachael Henderson and Joseph Kanowski serve jail time for assault

A court has heard about how an Ipswich couple went off the rails, leading police on a meth-fuelled car chase just days after being involved in a brutal beating at a local carpark.

A meth-fuelled crime spree came to an end for an Ipswich couple after their car was T-boned during a wild and dangerous police chase through Ipswich.

The pair, who have two children together, Rachael Kali Henderson and Joseph Michael Kanowski, were involved in a serious assault at Redbank Plains five days before the crash.

Police prosecutor Robyn Schermer said Henderson, Kanowski, and a friend were parked in a carpark when Henderson spotted the victim, a woman, and told her to get into the car.

Rachael Kali Henderson and Joseph Michael Kanowski.

Prosecutor Schermer said the 30-year-old mum was the only person who knew the victim.

The court heard Henderson turned to her partner and told him to “get her in”.

Kanowski began beating the woman with his fists in the back seat of the car while Henderson started the car and took off.

The woman in the passenger seat allegedly took the victim’s handbag, phone and wallet.

The court heard the victim made multiple attempts to escape the car before she eventually put her arm through a window and opened the door from the outside.

Henderson started to slow the car before the woman spilt out onto the bitumen.

Prosecutor Schermer said a week after the assault, police spotted the pair running a red light in a car being driven at speed.

When police activated lights and sirens, Kanowski put his foot down, wove in and out of traffic, and ran another red light before coming to a crashing halt.

The court heard Kanowski was driving on the wrong side of the road when his car was T-boned.

Prosecutor Schermer said Kanowski later tested positive for meth and two other drugs, and was driving on a court disqualified licence.

The court heard police arrested the pair after they were released from hospital, and found a small amount of meth inside Henderson’s body.

The Ipswich Courthouse. Picture: Cordell Richardson

Hans Legal director and lawyer Dylan Hans and Bouchier Khan director Yassar Khan said both their clients had an exceptionally tough childhood and suffered from mental health and substance abuse issues.

Magistrate Dennis Kinsella agreed the pair’s upbringings contributed to their extensive criminal history, which included acts of violence and robbery.

Magistrate Kinsella said although Henderson did not strike the woman, she did orchestrate the assault.

Kanowski pleaded guilty to assault in company, evading police, unlicensed driving, drug driving, breaching bail, and the dangerous operation of a vehicle.

He was sentenced to a two-and-a-half year jail term with immediate parole, and was disqualified from driving for two years.

Henderson pleaded guilty to assault in company and drug possession before being sentenced to a 15-month jail term with immediate parole.

The pair spent more than 230 days in custody, which was declared as time served.