Thug punches woman in the face 15 times and stabs her

Brutal domestic violence offender William Lawrence Rowrow has been jailed.

A RECIDIVIST domestic violence offender who once stabbed his partner in the face with a screwdriver and then put his fingers in the wound to make it worse has been jailed for stabbing her chest with scissors.

William Lawrence Rowrow, 35, pleaded guilty on April 28 in Rockhampton District Court to one count of domestic violence wounding, one of domestic violence common assault, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing drug utensils and breaches of bail.

Crown prosecutor Elise Sergeant said Rowrow and his partner had been drinking at a cousin's place in Woorabinda on February 17, 2018, and shared a bottle of rum.

She said the victim went to bed early in the spare room and Rowrow went elsewhere to continue drinking.

Ms Sergeant said when the victim woke up about 1am, she saw the defendant return and he started yelling at her "what the f--- are you doing in the room with Leon?", referring the victim's sister's boyfriend.

She said Rowrow punched the victim's face 15 times, produced a pair of scissors and stabbed her in the chest, immediately pulling the scissors out.

Ms Sergeant said the victim called for help and a male family member came to her aide.

The victim sustained a 2cm long wound to the left chest wall and pneumothorax (collapse) of the left lung.

She was in hospital for three days. Rowrow handed himself into Blackwater police on March 23.

Police found him in possession of a homemade bong in January 2020 and then, in February, Rowrow was located at the Leichhardt Hotel in Rockhampton with a cone piece, pipe, scissors and marijuana.

Defence barrister Ross Lo Monaco said Rowrow was an alcoholic who was raised by grandparents until he was six or seven years old, and his sister died in 2007 and a brother in 2016.

"He began to abuse alcohol at a very young age," he said.

Mr Lo Monaco said Rowrow started drinking by age nine, was living on the streets by age 14 and secured his own unit when he was 16.

He said Rowrow had lived on his own since then.

"He describes himself as a chronic alcoholic for most of his life," Mr Lo Monaco said.

He said the breaches of bail were all because of alcohol consumption restrictions Rowrow could not comply with.

He said Rowrow had tried rehabilitation but had not been able to sustain abstinence for any significant time.

Mr Lo Monaco said Rowrow planned to return to his unit in Blackwater until he got a place at Rockhampton rehabilitation centre Gumbi Gumbi.

He said his relationship with the victim, which has been going on for 16 years, was toxic with alcohol and violence by both.

Rowrow's criminal record included 35 appearances in court for charges of violence, possessing knives, drugs and domestic violence.

He was sentenced in October 2017 for the screwdriver assault which also involved Rowrow hitting the victim with a hockey stick and stomping on her head.

Rowrow was taken into custody for these offences in February 2020 due to breaches of bail where one breach saw Rowrow with a blood-alcohol content reading of .265.

Judge Michael Burnett ordered Rowrow to three years prison with parole release on April 1, 2021.

*For 24-hour domestic violence support call the national hotline 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or MensLine on 1800 600 636.

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