Samuel Woodward: Man sentenced for terrifying attack on ex-partner

‘Girls like you end up in ditches’: A heavy ice user issued chilling threats to his former partner as he locked her in a room and used pliers to brutalise her during a terrifying hours-long ordeal.

A South Burnett woman was locked in a room, brutalised with pliers and threatened during a terrifying incident that lasted hours after her ex-partner accused her of stealing his drugs.

When the young woman arrived at Samuel Woodward’s home to give him food in May 2021, things quickly spiralled out of control as the heavy ice user began to accuse her of stealing drugs from him.

The now 32-year-old subjected his victim to hours of terror, locking her in his bedroom and yelling threats, crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke told the Kingaroy District Court.

The shocking incident into physical violence when Woodward approached the woman with a weapon in his hands.

“(He) took a pair of pliers and clamped them over her fingers which caused an injury when she pulled her hand away,” Ms O’Rourke said.

The threats against the woman continued, even after he let her out of the room, ominously telling her, “girls like you end up in ditches”.

The court was told the horrific attack left the woman terrified, and she did not report the matter to police until July of that year.

Police who spoke to Woodward about the assault said he spent the entire time “ranting” to officers.

Woodward pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and making threats.

Lawyer James Feely told the court the “heavy” meth user had since stopped using the drug and was being treated with risperidone for bipolar disorder.

Woodward, who served almost 10 months in pre-sentence custody, was sentenced to 18 months’ jail and released on parole on April 29.