Corey Mitchell Sellies-Cullen loses appeal for lesser sentence after Nambour car park stabbing

A Sunshine Coast teenager who was jailed after stabbing a stranger in the neck and chest during a violent attack in a car park has made a bid at an earlier release from prison.

Police establish a crime scene in the car park under Super Cheap Auto after a man was stabbed in Nambour. Picture: Patrick Woods.

A 19-year-old Nambour man who stabbed a stranger in the neck and chest during an armed robbery in a car park has lost a bid at a lesser sentence.

Court documents state then 18-year-old Corey Mitchell Sellies-Cullen stabbed a stranger at a Coronation Avenue car park in Nambour on April 20, 2022 during a robbery over a backpack, which had all the victim’s belongings.

The victim, a 41-year-old homeless man, suffered a three centimetre deep wound to the back left of his neck and a 20cm long wound to his upper abdomen and lower chest, the documents state.

Police establish a crime scene in the car park under Super Cheap Auto after a man was stabbed in Nambour. Picture: Patrick Woods.

It was reported the victim had stumbled away into a nearby McDonald’s with stab wounds, where he was treated by paramedics, including Critical Care, for his serious injuries.

Sellies-Cullen pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on March 27, 2023 to armed robbery, grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife in public and was sentenced to six years behind bars.

He lodged an appeal which was heard in the Court of Appeal on October 24, claiming it was not a serious violent offence and that the sentence was excessive.

The documents state the declaration of a serious violent offence meant Sellies-Cullen could not be released on parole until he had served 80 per cent of the sentence.

Sellies-Cullen argued in the documents seven years behind bars with a parole release after serving half the sentence would have been more appropriate.

Justice Glen Martin said Sellies-Cullen’s behaviour that night was serious, having pursued the victim after Sellies-Cullen and a group of others confronted the man and taunted him.

Police establish a crime scene in the car park under Super Cheap Auto after a man was stabbed in Nambour. Pictured, Sergeant Devon Cupitt (right). Photo: Patrick Woods.

The documents state the sentencing judge found Sellies-Cullen was at risk of reoffending and ongoing drug abuse and “psychological make-up” were contributing factors to his behaviour that night, but those remained unaddressed.

The documents state Sellies-Cullen had previously been caught with a knife in a public place one week before the stabbing and had a history of drug abuse from a young age. He was also believed to have undiagnosed ADHD and even PTSD, but was remorseful for his actions and had the support of his family.

“His Honour concluded that the applicant constituted a risk to the community because of his ‘real issue with anger control’,” Justice Martin said.

He said in the documents the circumstances surrounding the stabbing were unfortunately not uncommon, but backed the sentencing judge’s decision behind the original sentence.

Sellies-Cullen’s application was refused.

A Justice Media spokesperson said there was no declaration for parole.