Matthew Ian Oswald Adam left his partner with lethal injuries in Rockhampton garage

A meth-fuelled man with an ‘atrocious’ record against women left his partner with lethal injuries after punching her in the face and kicking her in the stomach. Read who rescued her here. DISTURBING CONTENT

A methamphetamines-fuelled man with an “entrenched propensity to perpetrate the most extreme acts of domestic violence” left his partner with lethal injuries on the floor of a stranger’s garage, taking off with her wallet and mobile phone.

It took her an hour to recover enough to try and stand up and try to make her way to a nearby relative’s house for help.

A passer-by spotted the woman struggling to move and drove her to her relative’s place where the ambulance picked her up from and took her to Rockhampton Hospital where she was put in the ICU and underwent major surgery.

That woman’s attacker – Matthew Ian Oswald Adam’s – pleaded guilty on July 15 in Rockhampton District Court to one count of grievous bodily harm.

Crown prosecutor Millie Volck said Adams had picked up the victim from her home sometime after midnight on September 15, 2021, and they went to a house in North Rockhampton.

Ms Volck said when the victim wanted to leave, she asked Adams to return her wallet and this angered Adams.

“The defendant started yelling because he wanted a shot (of meth),” she said.

Ms Volck said the victim began to walk away with her wallet and Adams grabbed her by her shirt, pulled her backwards and she fell to the ground.

She said Adams kicked the victim to the lower left side and told her if she didn’t get up, he would bash her.

WOMAN PUNCHED IN FACE, PICKED UP BY THROAT

Ms Volck said Adams punched the victim in the face many times, picked her up by her throat and threw her to the ground.

She said Adams dragged the victim back to the house and kicked her a second time in the stomach.

Ms Volck said Adams was asked to leave by the occupant of the house.

She said outside the house, the victim vomited in the yard.

Ms Volck said Adams punched the victim in her sternum area and then “dragged her over the fence through the next door neighbour’s yard and left her in the garage”.

Adams, 29, took the victim’s handbag which contained her wallet, phone and birth certificate.

“About an hour later, the victim summoned the strength to make a way to a relative’s house close by,” Ms Volck said.

“A woman saw the victim struggling and drove her to the address.”

The victim sustained significant injuries including lacerations to her spleen and liver, which required major surgery.

“The victim’s injuries would have likely resulted in a fatal haemorrhage or the loss of organs such as her spleen and liver had she not received treatment,” Ms Volck said.

She said the victim may need further surgery and was at risk of serious medical issues in the future.

LEFT WITH SCAR FROM CHEST TO PELVIC REGION

Ms Volck said the victim not only has continuous pain, nightmares and flashbacks as reminders of that night, but she also has a scar from her chest to her pelvic region.

She said the victim also suffers from anxiety and depression and does not like to leave her house as fear results in her constantly looking over her shoulder.

Adams was located five days later, sitting on a couch with a bong packed with marijuana and a bowl containing one gram of marijuana.

He also had a cone piece and pipe in his pocket.

Ms Volck said this offence breached a suspended sentence Adams was handed earlier in the year for breaching domestic violence orders, and he was on two probation orders.

She said Adams had an “atrocious criminal history demonstrating clear propensity for violent offending, most of which has been directed towards women”.

She said his criminal record showed he started committing domestic violence offences including kicking his mother 10-15 times while she was on the ground after she refused to change his baby’s nappy.

Ms Volck said it also included convictions for when he broke into a former girlfriend’s house and made threats before she locked herself in the bathroom.

She said Adams smashed his way into the bathroom, threw plates and a DVD player at her door.

Ms Volck said he then grabbed the victim by the throat and dragged her around the bedroom while punching and kicking her.

“He then grabbed a knife and jabbed her in the back three times, telling her he would skin her face, continuing to punch her,” she said.

That victim sustained lacerations and he received a three-years and two-months prison term.

VICTIM WAS THE FIFTH FOR OFFENDER

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said Adams did not recall the offending due to the meth he had consumed that night but accepted what the victim said happened and was remorseful and ashamed.

She said he had issues with meth and after his father’s death a month prior to this offence, he had been using much more heavily.

Ms Shaw said Adams’s parents separated when he was young due to domestic violence he was exposed to growing up and he had issues with methamphetamines.

She said he had completed Year 11 at Charters Towers along with certificates in engineering, but had no work history.

Ms Shaw said he has two children aged 11 and nine who live with their mother in Townsville and his mother, who he had repaired his relationship with since the kicking incident, also lives in Townsville and sees the children.

Judge Jeff Clarke said this victim was the fifth Adams had been in a relationship with, according to his criminal record and the evidence before the court.

He said this offending could only be described as “incredibly violent”.

“It was outrageous behaviour that was entirely unprovoked,” Judge Clarke said.

“There was some particularly callous behaviour.

“You did not provide her with any assistance and indeed, she had been left in some isolated garage in what must have been in a state of incredible pain and fear in the middle of the night until she had the good fortune of being discovered by someone.

“Your past record of offending certainly confirms that you present an ongoing risk of harm to others, particularly women who are vulnerable to your entrenched propensity to perpetrate the most extreme acts of domestic violence.”

He sentenced Adams to 7.5 years prison, declared 298 days pre sentence custody and set parole eligibility for September 20, 2024.