Adam Davies: Graham Cleary jailed for Booval stabbing death

A notorious Ipswich criminal inexplicably stabbed a young father he’d never met before then claimed he’d been “set up”, court hears.

A recidivist Ipswich criminal had been using ice intravenously and taken up to 20 Valium tablets in the lead-up to him stabbing a man unknown to him, causing his death.

Moores Pocket man Graham Shawn Cleary, 48, was sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday for the manslaughter of 29-year-old Raceview man Adam Davies at a Bergin St, Booval address on the morning of January 5, 2019.

Cleary, an Indigenous father-of-seven known as ‘Bozo’, was initially charged with murder before the Crown accepted a plea to the lesser count last week.

The court heard the single stab wound which ended Davies’ life was preceded by a day of intravenous ice use and Valium abuse by Cleary and three associates.

On the evening of January 4, Cleary and his friends ended up at the Bergin St address which belonged to one of the group.

There, they continued abusing drugs in the living room.

At one point in the evening, Davies and his partner, Erin Mackay, contacted the unit’s owner and requested to stay the night, which was agreed to.

Stabbing victim Adam Davies, 29, of Raceview. Picture: Supplied

Upon arrival, Davies and Mackay went straight to a bedroom to sleep, not associating with Cleary and his group who were partying in the living room, Crown prosecutor Clayton Wallis told the court.

About 8am on January 5, Davies got up and made “small talk” with one of Cleary’s associates in the kitchen before making to return to bed.

According to Mr Wallis, on Davies’ way back to the bedroom, Cleary inexplicably approached him and stabbed him once to the lower right abdomen, penetrating 8cm deep and transecting his iliac artery.

The court heard Ms Mackay told police she heard Davies moan outside the bedroom, “Why did you stab me?” before he staggered in.

Upon Davies entering the bedroom, Ms Mackay saw Cleary armed with the knife, at which point she armed herself and told Cleary to leave, which he did.

Police and paramedics arrived at the Booval unit about 9.15am, with Davies passing away a few hours later.

The court heard Cleary, after leaving the unit, spent the next 75 minutes travelling around Ipswich via the train system, until his interception by police about 10.30am.

Moores Pocket man Graham Shawn Cleary, 48. Picture: Facebook

A search of his person revealed a serrated knife covered in Davies’ blood which Cleary had armed himself with at his friend’s unit.

Cleary confessed to his recent intravenous drug use and told police he had also taken up to 20 Valium tablets.

The court heard Cleary subsequently and repeatedly claimed he was “set up”, a claim both inexplicable and unsubstantiated.

Mr Wallis told the court there was still no indication why Cleary stabbed Davies, who he had never met before.

Defence counsel Stephen Kissick said there was “no explanation (for the stabbing) other than drug-fuelled stupidity and criminality”.

He said his client’s mother, who was present in court, remained supportive of him and Cleary had a large extended family.

Mr Kissick said his client was addicted to heroin from his late teens, a fact reflected in his 13-page criminal history, which was littered with property, drug and dishonesty-type offending.

Cleary has been remanded in pre-sentence custody for a total of 1,017 days following his stabbing of Davies.

Justice Glenn Martin sentenced Cleary to nine years’ imprisonment and made no parole-eligibility order, meaning Cleary will be eligible after serving half of his sentence, due to fall on July 4, 2023.