Luke Fellingham in Sunshine Coast court for ‘feral’ attack on woman

A former painting business owner dragged a woman by her hair across the pavement, forced her jaw open and bit her ear after he threatened to kill her inside her own home.

Luke Fellingham was sentenced in Maroochydore District Court on May 9, 2024. Photo: social media

A man who was choking a woman and only stopped when her teenage son intervened then chased her down the road and dragged the woman by the hair in a prolonged attack.

Luke Fellingham pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on May 9 to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm, one of common assault, one of wilful damage and one of attempted strangulation.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark named Fellingham’s assault against a woman as “brutal” and “feral” and said he had used “every mechanism” possible to inflict violence.

He told the court Fellingham had deliberately dropped a wine glass when he was at the woman’s home and grabbed her throat, bending her over the railing of her terrace so the victim could see the rocks below.

Fellingham told the woman she was going to die, Mr Stark said.

He only stopped when the woman’s son saw the incident and told Fellingham to stop, the court heard.

Mr Stark said Fellingham then began to punch her inside the house and she ran out of the home as the man chased her down the road.

The court heard he held her arm after he caught her, threatening to break her arm and headbutted her twice.

He then dragged her by the hair, smashed her face into the pavement and kneed her in the face, Mr Stark said.

Luke Fellingham was sentenced in Maroochydore District Court on May 9, 2024. Photo: social media

Fellingham then pushed her fingers into her mouth to the extent the woman feared he would rip her jaw open, Mr Stark told the court.

“He bit her ear so forcefully she thought he was going to bite it off,” he said.

A neighbour saw the altercation and intervened, helping the woman into his car to protect her from the assault.

Mr Stark said Fellingham pulled the woman away before she could escape, dragged her away and punched her while she was curled up on the ground.

The woman received two black eyes - one which had swollen shut - and other soft tissue injuries on her body alongside a concussion, which now inflicts ongoing headaches.

Mr Stark said the woman also moved homes as she did not feel safe in her own home.

Defence barrister Mark Dixon said his client’s violent behaviour was linked to alcohol and drugs, and he had been under the influence of alcohol at the time.

He told the court Fellingham had self-diagnosed himself with ADD and had used meth and cannabis to self-medicate.

Fellingham previously ran a painting and decorating business and decided to return to the industry after his release from prison.

Judge Glen Cash sentenced him to three and a half years’ imprisonment to be eligible for parole on July 23 and declared his 352 days in pre-sentence custody as time served.