Revealed: Inside the South Burnett’s disturbing domestic violence plague
From strangulation to coward punches and sickening threats, these are the terrifying crimes South Burnett residents suffer at the hands of domestic violence perpetrators and how our region’s help services are coping. See the list of offenders:
Police & Courts
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The scourge of domestic violence remains one of the prevalent crimes in the South Burnett with offenders flooding the region’s courts weekly for a range of terrifying acts against their own partners and families, from strangulation to stalking to spine-tingling threats.
Covid lockdowns and other factors have driven a spike in violence within the home, with Queensland courts recording more than 38,000 new domestic violence orders over the past 12 months.
Women are more often than not the victims of domestic violence in Queensland, representing 77 per cent of those who require court protection.
South Burnett CTC Youth and Family Services manager Kirsten Firman leads the team that is often on the frontline of the region’s DV crisis, providing emergency support to those suffering from violence in the home.
The organisation runs two seperate DV programs, one dedicated to helping those connected to the Cherbourg community and another for the wider South Burnett region.
The programs employ three domestic violence counsellors, and also provides support in DV courts every week.
Ms Firman said one of the frustrations facing the service was a critical lack of emergency housing in the region.
“There’s nearly none. It’s across a lot of the state, but we have so little emergency housing in this area,” she said.
“They have to look outside the region unless they’ve got families or friends ... in the region that they can go to.
“Otherwise it’s out of the region pretty much without exception.”
Ms Firman said her team saw a “very dramatic” increase in domestic violence during the first rounds of lockdowns across the region, but added the figures had remained stable - if still high - across recent months.
Former Kingaroy resident Lloyd Clarke and his wife Sue have played a pivotal role in making Australia a safe place for women after the tragic murder of their daughter and grandchildren by her estranged partner.
The horrific killings of Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, forced the Australian public to confront the scourge of domestic violence, but the issue soon faded into the background when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“We started up our own foundation, Small Steps 4 Hannah, because we want to get the conversation started about White Ribbon and about domestic violence, in particular coercive control,” Mrs Clarke previously told News Corp.
“More and more people are having the conversation. The message is getting out there, but not enough.”
Mr and Mrs Clarke were honoured as the 2022 Queensland Australian of the Year recipients for their passionate and transformative work advocating for domestic violence victims through their foundation Small Steps 4 Hannah, which raises lifesaving awareness about coercive control.
Ms Firman said family members and friends played a critical role in identifying and helping those suffering abuse.
She said some of the key warning signs were changes in behaviour, increased anxiety, and victims no longer attending normal events.
“When you know your family and friends, you can see that shift and change,” she said.
“Don‘t take that at face value and explore it a little bit more, see if you can encourage them to seek some help.”
See below some of the most shocking examples of domestic violence to come through South Burnett courts recently:
‘I’ll kill you’: Woman suffocated after knocking over Xbox
After accidentally knocking over her boyfriend’s Xbox while cleaning his house, a South Burnett woman was dragged across the room by her hair and suffocated with two pillows.
Crown prosecutor William Slack said the victim was cleaning when she accidentally knocked the 37-year-old’s Xbox off the cabinet.
As she attempted to mend the Xbox, he again grabbed her by the hair and dragged onto the bed, and punched her in the breast a number of times where she had a pre-existing lump.
While she was on her back, Mr Slack said the defendant then pushed his knees into her stomach and began suffocating her with two pillows, causing her to feel weak and fear for her life.
The man then picked up an axe off the TV cabinet and swung it at her, saying “I’m going to kill you” and that he’d break her jaw if she moved from the bed.
He pleaded guilty in Kingaroy District Court to four charges including common assault (domestic violence offence), assault occasioning bodily harm (DV offence), suffocation (domestic violence offence), and contravening a domestic violence order.
He was sentenced to three years in jail with immediate parole.
Jailed dad’s threat to kill mum after baby drowns in makeshift bath
A South Burnett man was jailed for threatening to “bash and kill” his ex-partner after their seven-month-old baby tragically drowned in a makeshift bath in the laundry sink.
Zephaniah Herbert Graham, 22, called the mother of their child 39 times from jail, threatening to kill her, “boot her in the head” and “break her” between January and April this year.
Crown prosecutor James Bishop told Kingaroy District Court Graham also called on relatives to harass Lavinia Alison Murray on his behalf, asking them to pass on threats to bash and kill her.
Ms Murray, 21, is charged with manslaughter over the death of the couple’s daughter and is accused of leaving the baby in a makeshift bath in the laundry sink where she drowned.
Graham pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice and stalking.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail with immediate parole.
‘Semi-human’: Man jailed for attacks on pregnant partner
A South Burnett man was locked up after repeatedly hitting his pregnant partner with various objects, including a piece of fence pailing, and repeatedly taunting her with cruel insults and pouring drinks over her head.
The man pleaded guilty to 13 charges including contravening a domestic violence order, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, and common assault.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Barry Stevens told Murgon Magistrates Court that on one occasion, the man punched her in the side of the ribs before picking up a piece of fence pailing like a bat and hitting her twice in the back of the legs.
In a separate incident, the man pulled a screwdriver out of his pocket and said, “I’m going to stab you in the head”, before hitting his victim in the back of her head with the metal end.
Magistrate Andrew Sinclair denounced the defendant‘s behaviour as “semi-human” and sentenced him to 15 months in jail.
Stockman punches, wraps rope around pregnant partner’s throat
A Nanango man was sentenced to jail after he wrapped a rope around his pregnant partner’s neck and punched her in the eye as her young son listened to the cruel attack.
Crown prosecutor Alysha Ballantyne said the 13-weeks-pregnant victim was talking to a friend on the phone one night in May last year when Daniel Jeremiah Malone began yelling at her, demanding she not talk about him.
“(Malone) punched the complainant in the left eye. She cried and (he) ridiculed her, asking, ‘What are you crying for?’,” she said.
The 34-year-old man then wrapped a rope around the victim’s throat and pulled her toward him, also catching her wrists in the rope.
“(Malone) yelled at the (victim) during this assault, calling her a ‘pathetic b-tch’,” Ms Ballantyne said.
He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed with an offensive weapon.
Malone was sentenced to 18 months in jail, which will be suspended for two years after he serves six months.
Drug addict punches partner in kidneys, drags her outside
A Kingaroy man was sentenced to nine months behind bars after attacking his partner, punching her in the kidneys while she was crafting gifts for her grandchildren.
Magistrate Andrew Sinclair told the Kingaroy court the victim was making Easter gifts when the 48-year-old punched her in the kidneys, causing immediate pain.
“That sort of behaviour is typical of people who are intoxicated on ice,” Mr Sinclair said.
Just two days later the man dragged the victim into the front yard of the house, telling her he’s going to “kick the f--k out of her” before punching her in the head and kicking her in the shins.
“These are serious examples of domestic violence, and even though the aggrieved wasn’t sent to hospital, both of those attacks were quite strong and within a relatively short period of one another,” Mr Sinclair said.
The man pleaded guilty to assault, three counts of contravening a domestic violence order, breaching bail, and possessing dangerous drugs and drug utensils.
He was sentenced to nine months in jail with eligibility for parole in December.
Kingaroy man headbutts mother in face, blackens eyes
A Kingaroy man found himself behind bars after headbutting his mother, causing black eyes, and threateningly pointing a large kitchen knife toward his own chest.
Kingaroy Magistrates Court was told the 20-year-old kicked a water cooler and threw furniture around the living room upon arrival at his mother's house.
The man then headbutted his victim, causing immediate discomfort and black eyes, before grabbing a large kitchen knife and pointing it toward his own chest while his brother watched on in horror.
The man pleaded guilty to eight charges including contravening a domestic violence order and assaulting and obstructing police.
He was sentenced to six months in jail.
Horror as 12yo girl’s ride harness releases mid-air
The operator of a “mega drop” ride a 12-year-old girl fell from when her harness released mid-ride at the Kilcoy Show has been fined $50000.
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