Central QLD miner Steven George Davis used meth, stalked wife

A former Central Queensland miner claims meth “ruined his life”, costing him his family and job.

A former Central Queensland miner threatened to burn his matrimonial house down while holding a jerry can if his wife left him, starting in her home hair salon.

A former Central Queensland miner threatened to burn his matrimonial house down while holding a jerry can if his wife left him, starting in her home hair salon, a court heard.

Steven George Davis, 40, spent 18 months stalking and harassing his now former wife of 20 years and mother of his two children, Rockhampton District Court heard on November 8.

Judge Jeff Clarke said out of Davis’s “jealousy, need for dominance, and control” over the victim, he installed applications to conduct surveillance of her, tracking her every movement for 18 months and kept records which formed part of “incriminating evidence” found his electronic devices.

“The other part of the incriminating evidence found were the things that you had typed up, written down your musings, which really reflected your overriding sense of jealousy that she was seeing someone else and that was something you would not tolerate,” he said.

Davis also sent his ex-wife messages to let her know he was tracking her and provided information to her estranged father.

The court heard he also engaged in financial control domestic violence behaviours by cancelling subscriptions for internet and phone, along with taking money out of a joint bank account so the victim did not have access to funds.

Davis also took photos of cars parked outside the victim’s residence, captured on CCTV.

Judge Clarke said the most concerning event during this offending occurred on April 20, 2023, when Davis threatened to burn down the matrimonial home if the victim ended their marriage.

Davis had a jerry can in his hand as he step toward the victim.

The victim pleaded with Davis not to burn the house down to which he responded: “You can watch the f***ing place burn. I made it. I can destroy it.”

Steven George Davis, 40, spent 18 months stalking and harassing his now former wife of 20 years and mother of his two children and was sentenced in the Rockhampton District Court.

Judge Clarke said Davis then went into the home hair salon, opened the jerry can and said to the victim: “You reckon you can do it on your own” and went to set the salon alight.

He said the victim screamed at Davis to stop, he left the house but returned to scream at her before the incident ended.

Judge Jeff Clarke said the victim impact statements by Davis’s former wife confirmed Davis’s “selfish acts have completely destroyed your family’s sense of security and well being” and Davis’s daughter had disowned him.

Defence barrister Daniel Barker said his client claimed drugs had “ruined his life”, resulting in him losing his family and his job at the mine in Moura.

Judge Clarke said he was concerned by this claim and lack of insight into why he would behave in such a jealous, controlling and dominating way.

The court heard Davis had been convicted in relation to marijuana in 2o21 and had been abusing methamphetamines at the time of the stalking offending.

He had worked at the Moura coal mine until August 2023 when he was charged with stalking and had since worked odd jobs.

Davis pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful stalking, intimidation, harassment or abuse and was sentenced to 2.5 years prison with one day presentence custody declared as time served.

He will be released on parole on July 7, 2025.