Clynt Frederick Ellis in Rockhampton court for unlawful wounding

“I’m going to kill you, are you ready to die?” These are the words a 47-year-old Central Queensland man heard just moments before he was stabbed in the stomach by a father with an extensive criminal history for violence.

Clynt Frederick Ellis.

“I’m going to kill you, are you ready to die?” These are the words a 47-year-old Rockhampton man heard just moments before he was stabbed in the stomach by a Queensland father with an extensive criminal history for violence.

The Rockhampton District Court heard that the victim was at his home with his 21-year-old stepson on Derby St, Allenstown, on March 6 when they heard some commotion outside at 8.30pm and went out to investigate.

Clynt Frederick Ellis, 48, was with another man on the night of the stabbing who had a problem with the victim’s neighbour.

The court heard the victim and his stepson saw Ellis and another man walk into the neighbour’s yard and they were worried something was going to happen and intervened.

Judge Jeff Clarke said one of the men yelled at the victim and his stepson, “Look at these two f—s. We will beat the s—t out of you.”

Judge Clarke said the victim was concerned something was going to happen and stepped forward to get in the way of his stepson to protect him.

“The victim had his hand down by his side with his open palms facing to show he wasn’t posing any threat to you,” he said.

He said the other man with Ellis said, “Stab this c—t and we will get the other one a little later.”

He said Ellis told the victim, a stranger, “I’m going to kill you, are you ready to die?”

“The victim responded for you to come on and felt a popping sensation in his stomach,” he said.

“He looked down and saw you had stabbed him and were holding a knife with a three inch blade.

“You took several steps back while the blood profusely came from his body.”

Crown prosecutor Ken Spinaze said Ellis and the man he was with walked away laughing and yelling and “had little regard to the victim”.

Mr Spinaze described Ellis’ actions as ‘callous’.

Judge Clarke said the victim’s stepson helped him get back home and that his wife was hysterical.

He said Ellis yelled out to “shut that w—e up” and referred to her as a “s—t” and a “s—k”.

He said emergency services were called and the victim was treated for a stab wound to the left upper abdominal wall and taken to hospital where he had to undergo emergency surgery.

Mr Spinaze said Ellis had an extensive criminal history for violence.

In 2008, Ellis was sentenced to two years and three months after he slashed his then girlfriend’s throat with a knife and roundhouse kicked her in the head in the Sunshine Coast.

Defence barrister Julie Marsden her client, who was the father of three adult children and had a partner on the Sunshine Coast, started using marijuana when he was in Year 6 at school and methamphetamines by 28.

Ms Marsden said her client instructed had been clean from drugs from between three to fours years and that alcohol had also been a problem.

“On the night of this offence he was intoxicated,” she said.

She said her client instructed he and the other man were going out for pizza and that he wasn’t a participant in the dispute.

“It wasn’t pre-planned,” she said.

She said the knife he had was from work.

Ellis was born and raised in the Torres Strait Islands and far North Queensland.

Ms Marsden said her client suffered from depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, adding that he was stabbed with a spear when he was young.

She said after her client was released from prison, he wanted to go back to the Sunshine Coast and return to work driving trucks.

Ellis pleaded guilty on December 14 to one count of unlawful wounding.

Judge Clarke sentenced Ellis to four years prison, with parole eligibility on July 6, 2024 and declared 283 days of pre-sentence custody as time already served.