Kim Timothy Neville Appleton: Man sentenced in Warwick court over shocking assault

‘I wanted to hurt her’: A serial violent offender who knocked his victim unconscious during a shocking attack after she ended their relationship has been sentenced in the Warwick court on more than 20 charges.

A man who smashed his girlfriend’s face into a wall and knocked her unconscious after she tried to end their relationship has been sentenced in the Warwick court to a lengthy stint behind bars.

Kim Timothy Neville Appleton and his then-partner were together at a Morningside home on July 3 last year when a heated argument broke out between the pair, ending when the woman walked out of the house but left behind her clothes and belongings.

Warwick Magistrates Court heard Appleton then shredded the clothing with scissors, saying when he was later interviewed by police that he was so angry and frustrated after the fight that “(he) wanted to hurt her”.

The violence escalated the next day when the woman returned to the house and found her clothing had been destroyed, which led to another argument and the woman eventually breaking up with Appleton.

The 35-year-old became enraged, walking up behind the woman while she was bent over to pick up her bag and forcefully shoving her head into a wall, knocking her out for about 15 seconds.

Police and paramedics soon arrived at the scene to find Appleton’s victim with a bloody nose, bruising around her left eye and forehead, and broken glasses still stuck to her face, with her injuries requiring treatment in hospital.

The shocking attack on his then-partner was only the beginning of a months-long string of offending that landed Appleton before the Warwick court.

He was busted stealing a swag of clothing from a Kmart store at Cannon Hill in May last year, and ran into strife again on December 22 when he was spotted by an off-duty police officer trying to make off with a stolen smartwatch from a nearby Aldi.

The court heard Appleton sprinted away on foot when he spotted police and fled into a nearby shopping centre from which he was banned at the time, with his erratic path forcing several members of the public to jump out of his way.

He went on to steal a drink from an Oxley service station on January 9 and was nabbed red-handed trying to steal battery packs worth a combined $499.90 from a Brisbane retailer.

Appleton then failed to appear in court or breached the conditions of his bail on 12 separate occasions between May last year and April 24, when he was eventually taken into custody following an altercation with his family.

He appeared in the Warwick court via videolink from Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, where he spent 80 days in pre-sentence custody.

Parts of a written submission from defence lawyer Clare Hine were read to the court, revealing Appleton was living on the streets at 17 and fell into a pattern of alcohol abuse and begging, spending much of his young adult life as “a transient alcoholic involved in petty crime”.

The court was told that a previous three-year jail term for robbery with actual violence enabled Appleton to finish high school and begin further work and study, but he relapsed into alcoholism before developing an ice habit.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said the man’s criminal history showed a concerning pattern of violence and 29 previous dishonesty offences, none of which could be excused by personal difficulties.

“Those who are in intimate relationships with you deserve to be protected from you when you resort to violence, and clearly as we know from your history, it features considerable past convictions for violence,” she said.

Appleton pleaded guilty to one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage, trespass, attempted stealing, public nuisance, and possessing a knife in a public place.

He pleaded guilty to a further seven counts of failing to appear, five counts of breaching bail conditions, and two counts each of stealing and obstructing police.

He was sentenced to two years and 11 months’ jail, with eligibility for parole from February 24 next year.