Armed terror as girl in highchair caught in Ipswich man’s violent tirade

A knife-wielding man who terrorised a mother while her daughter sat watching in a highchair has faced court for sentencing over horror incident that was sparked by an IT issue.

Generic image of violent offending

An Ipswich man has faced sentence for a violent episode in which one small frustration with a music speaker ended with him trying to stab a woman in her daughter’s bedroom.

The man, 32, pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court on October 6, 2022, to common assault, threatening violence, failure to appear in accordance with undertaking, and wilful damage of property.

The court heard that on October 26, 2020, the man was at a woman’s home and was frustrated that his phone would not connect to a speaker.

The woman told him to “f**k off”, and he hit her in the face, with a mobile phone in his hand.

The man then fetched a knife and stood near the woman’s daughter, who was sitting in a highchair.

The court heard he told the woman he “may as well kill himself,” put the knife to the base of his throat and pushed it into his skin, drawing blood, before telling the woman he would tell the police that she had stabbed him.

He then leaned over the little girl towards the woman, holding the knife, and the woman retreated down a hallway to her daughter’s bedroom.

The man chased her, and tried to stab at the woman, but she deflected and he dropped the knife.

Prosecutor Robyn Schermer said the man was arrested in January 2021, and participated in a recorded interview with police, but “provided a version that’s not accepted as truthful or an accurate account of events of that evening”.

The man further failed to appear while on bail on April 13, 2021, and later smashed a prison van window with his handcuffed wrists, causing approximately $723 worth of damage, on May 26, 2021.

The court heard the man had a violent criminal history, including threatening to stab a bus driver on one occasion, and threatening to stab a man, along with his wife and child, at a shopping centre – on both occasions after the individuals tried to intervene in his arguments with a woman.

The man was most recently dealt with in Ipswich District Court earlier this year for strangulation, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, for which he was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

His parole eligibility date was set for July, 2022, but he remained remanded in custody for these further charges to be dealt with.

Defence lawyer Matthew Fairclough said the man had a difficult upbringing, had been exposed to drugs at a young age, and that he struggled with a number of mental health concerns including ADHD, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

He said the man’s ultimate goal was to have a meaningful relationship with his children.

The man was sentenced to six months imprisonment for the common assault, to be served concurrently with his current sentence, with immediate parole eligibility.

He was convicted and not further punished for the other offences, and his 73 days of presentence custody were not declared.