South Burnett labourer pleads guilty to strangling, stalking ex-partner

Arresting a South Burnett father of two was not enough to stop him from carrying out a campaign of harassment and intimidation against his ex-partner.

A South Burnett labourer arrest for strangling his ex-partner’s arrest has not been enough to stop his campaign of abuse against her, with the father-of-two continuing to stalk her from behind bars.

The arrest and imprisonment of a South Burnett labourer failed to stop his campaign of abuse against his former partner, who he managed to stalk from behind bars.

The 40-year-old man, who is not identified in the court documents to protect his victim, was brought before Brisbane District Court in December 2024 for his serious offending, which started when he strangled the woman in her own home.

Published court documents say the woman had taken out a protection order against the man in May 2022.

However on October 2023 the pair were arguing in her bedroom when she told him to leave.

He responded by grabbing her by the throat with both hands and squeezing, the court documents reveal.

A South Burnett labourer arrest for strangling his ex-partner’s arrest has not been enough to stop his campaign of abuse against her, with the father-of-two continuing to stalk her from behind bars.

She was left struggling to breathe and, when she was finally able to break his grip, she ran to her children who witnessed his attack.

In the ensuing days the man contacted her workplace on social media, using the platform to call her a “meth user, liar, and cheater”.

When police arrested him, he called the woman twice from prison to blame her for putting him there.

He also asked her for money and, when she refused, he sent her five letters of which the contents included threats to take 25 per cent of her property and “make her life hard”.

The court heard the man grew up with a violent father, and was kicked out of home when he was 14 years old.

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During sentencing Judge Jennifer Rosengren noted the 40-year-old was only five days into a 12-month suspended prison sentence handed down by the Kingaroy Magistrates Court when he strangled his victim.

He had no criminal history until his mother died and he started using methamphetamines.

Since August 2019 he had racked up a three-page criminal history, including drug offences and domestic violence order breaches.

During sentencing Judge Jennifer Rosengren noted the 40-year-old was only five days into a 12-month suspended prison sentence handed down by the Kingaroy Magistrates Court when he strangled his victim.

“You have gone from being someone with a long history of contributing to the community and your family to someone in a hopeless grip of drug addiction, which 35 has just led you to prison,” Judge Rosengren said.

She sentenced him to three years’ jail, with immediate parole owing to 373 days already served in pre-sentence custody.