Paul Anthony Walsh, 60, of Redbank Plains, pleads guilty to stabbing his brother-in-law at Springfield Lakes

A man who has led an otherwise blameless life has been sentenced following an ugly family brawl that resulted in two people being injured, a court has heard this week.

A FAMILY dispute over the care of an elderly grandmother was the apparent trigger for a man being stabbed by his brother-in-law in an incident that left two middle-aged men injured.

Having led a blameless life, 60-year-old Paul Anthony Walsh from Redbank Plains went before Ipswich District Court for sentence on Thursday over the attack on his brother-in-law at Springfield Lakes.

Walsh pleaded guilty to the unlawful wounding of Stuart Westall at Springfield Lakes on May 15, 2020.

Crown prosecutor Amanda Robinson said Walsh was born in the UK and arrived in Australia as a child with his family.

He had no criminal history.

Walsh had been in a long-term relationship and the incident involved his partner’s brother, who is aged in his 50s.

Ms Robinson said Walsh went to his brother-in-law’s house “to sort him out” and had taken a steering wheel lock with him.

Walsh yelled out for the man to come outside, calling him a coward.

The court heard the man exited the house carrying a knife.

Ms Robinson said he lunged at Walsh, who swung the steering wheel lock, but both men missed.

In the ongoing confrontation Walsh had been stabbed in the hand, the court heard.

The men again swung at each other and while Walsh was on top of his brother-in-law the knife was dropped.

Ms Robinson said Walsh said: “You cut me so I’ll cut you”.

The court heard he then sliced the man twice with the knife, causing two wounds.

One was a 5cm deep laceration to the elbow, and the other a 3cm laceration to his left wrist.

Judge Lynch later disclosed that the agreed prosecution facts state the elbow knife injury went to the bone.

Ms Robinson said Walsh had been very cooperative with the police investigation and provided an account of what took place.

His own injury also had to be medically sutured.

Defence barrister Allana Davie said any jail sentence imposed should not be more than 2 ½ years.

“Our ultimate submission is that it is out of character and came out of stresses upon him at the time with (his then-partner) and her brother,” Ms Davie said.

“People speak highly of him.

“It appears he reacted poorly to the situation and was trying to go and fix things given the back and forth going on between the sister and her brother.”

Judge Dennis Lynch told Walsh he would not be going into jail but would receive a suspended sentence.

Judge Lynch gave more facts on the case, saying there had been a dispute between his partner and her brother over the care of their elderly mother.

This had caused arguments and threats to be made, that Walsh found “to be galling”.

“It was really an act of vengeance,” Judge Lynch said.

He noted that Walsh suffered a significant injury to his hand and the man had a left wrist injury that caused some drooping of his little finger.

Judge Lynch said Walsh’s hand injury left him with permanent tendon and nerve damage.

He said it was Walsh’s own actions that led to the confrontation.

He found it was out of character for Walsh.

Walsh was convicted and sentenced to two-years jail, immediately suspended for two years.