Jealous DV thug stalks ex in Charleville after break-up

A southwest Queensland woman locked herself up at home for days after her ex-partner began an “onslaught” of harassment where he stalked the woman at social events, at home, and at work.

A south west Queensland man with a lengthy domestic violence history, Garret Hayden Smith, will soon be released from jail after he pleaded guilty to stalking an ex-partner for a week after the relationship ended.

A southwest Queensland man with a lengthy domestic violence history will soon be released from jail after he pleaded guilty to stalking an ex-partner for a week after the relationship ended.

Garret Hayden Smith has been in custody at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre since police arrested him at his Charleville home on November 26, 2024.

The 36-year-old father appeared at Toowoomba District Court on Wednesday, March 20, and pleaded guilty to a stalking, intimidation, and harassment charge.

Smith was in a causal relationship with the woman, who was 12 years his junior, for more than two years before the relationship came to an end in 2024.

A south west Queensland man with a lengthy domestic violence history, Garret Hayden Smith, will soon be released from jail after he pleaded guilty to stalking an ex-partner for a week after the relationship ended.

Prior to the offending, the court heard Smith emotionally blackmailed the woman into staying in a relationship with him for longer by threatening to end his life if she left.

When the woman ended the relationship, Crown prosecutor Abby Kong said a jealous Smith began actively stalking and harassing the woman over a short, but intense, period of days.

She said the woman had to leave a Charleville pub after seeing Smith, who sent a barrage of jealous messages to her phone.

Smith followed her home, prompting the woman to lock herself inside and call a friend for help.

He then loitered around her house for hours despite being asked by the friend to leave.

Smith relentlessly tried to contact the woman and sent bitter messages, which Ms Kong described as an “onslaught of electronic harassment,” with him calling her 147 times from his phone, and another 98 through a private number.

When he could no longer get through to her he began posting about her on social media, wrote letters, and contacted a number of her friends and family.

The court heard Smith then attempted to damage the woman’s reputation, contacting her employer, and setting up a meeting with them to air her alleged dirty laundry.

He did not attend that meeting, he did however start loitering around her workplace.

Ms Kong said for a week the woman was too scared to leave her home to go to work, the gym, or the grocery store.

Smith pleaded guilty of his creepy and scary DV crime before the Toowoomba District Court in March 2025.

She said the frightening and persistent offending was particularly egregious given it occurred in a domestic violence setting where a woman was trying to leave a relationship.

The court heard the working man had a four-page criminal history, however he had never served time behind bars.

Judge Power told Smith although he made no threats of violence towards the woman, his conduct would have been “incredibly distressing”.

He said Smith’s domestic violence was concerning and showed he seemed to have difficulties maintaining healthy relationships with family and partners, and that his behaviour during the offending had an “air of mania” to it.

Smith was sentenced to a 15-month jail term to be released after serving four months.

The time Smith spent in custody was declared time served.

He will be released on March 22, 2025.

Originally published as Jealous DV thug stalks ex in Charleville after break-up