Franciscus Jacob Kolsteeg, 68, sentenced for attempted murder of wife

A husband used a hunting knife and hammer to try to kill his wife because she asked him to, a court has heard. Warning: Distressing content.

Franciscus Jacob Kolsteeg, 68, was jailed for nine years after he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his wife, Cheryl Arthur, in Cairns Supreme Court on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook

A husband used a hunting knife and hammer to try to kill his wife because she asked him to, a court has heard.

Franciscus Jacob Kolsteeg, 68, was jailed for nine years after he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his wife, Cheryl Arthur, in Cairns Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told the court the pair had been together for more than 18 years with no prior history of domestic violence.

The court heard the pair were experiencing an extended period of homelessness where they had been living out of their car before the incident in November, 2023.

Ms Friedewald told the court Ms Arthur had ongoing mental health concerns due to their life circumstances but had not sought professional help.

Franciscus Jacob Kolsteeg, 68, was jailed for nine years after he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his wife, Cheryl Arthur, in Cairns Supreme Court on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook

“At the time of the incident the pair only had $2.70 to their name and had been living off hot chips for two weeks,” she said.

Ms Arthur and other family members supported Kolsteeg in court.

The pair drove to a park on the Cassowary Coast on November 29 where they showered, spent some time reading and talked about their circumstances.

“Each had had enough,” she said.

Ms Friedewald told the court Ms Arthur asked her husband to kill her.

“He agreed and the pair left the car and walked to an area of the park they knew did not have security cameras,” she said.

The Cairns Court House building on Sheridan Street. Picture: Brendan Radke

“She began bleeding immediately and felt immense pain.”

Ms Arthur made her way onto the grass and lay on her back before she asked him to “finish her off”.

Ms Friedewald told the court the woman was discovered hours later, still alive, by a travelling family and she was flown to Cairns Hospital and treated for her injuries.

Kolsteeg was found later that night by police at Ella Bay where he said he intended to kill himself.

“He was cooperative and indicated she was not with him and he was unaware if she was alive or not,” Ms Friedewald said.

He told police they “wouldn’t believe what they had gone through” and provided a handwritten note saying “my beloved asked me to stop the pain” which described his wife’s extreme and strong emotional pain and despair.

He told police “She wanted to be dead, I really hope she is”.

Defence Council James Sheridan told the court Kolsteeg grew up in the Gold Coast and had spent most of his life working in delivery, welding and as a worker for the council for 25 years.

He had previously been divorced from which he obtained money from a house settlement.

The pair had been travelling and living off the money and their superannuation before their lives “descended into despair”.

They had been living out of their car for long periods since 2011.

The court heard the pair were reluctant to access Centrelink and other government assistance due to an intense mistrust of government services.

Mr Sheridan said the pair’s relationship was one of love, care, and affection.

Ms Arthur told the prosecution the worst thing about what happened was being separated from her husband and she wanted to apologise to him for asking him to do it.

Ms Friedewald said the charges were upgraded to attempted murder as “it was clear he intended to end her life that day”.

“Instead of getting the help she needed at the time he went through with her wishes and inflicted extreme violence on her and left her for dead in a misconceived act of compassion.”

Justice James Henry said the incident was driven by a perceived “future bereft of any happy prospect at all” aided by “an extreme sense of mistrust in searching out help or government assistance”.

He sentenced Kolsteeg to nine years imprisonment with a parole eligibility date of February 28, 2026 having served 537 days in custody.

The court was told Ms Arthur had been receiving psychiatric treatment.

As he left the courtroom Franciscus blew his wife a kiss and smiled.

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Originally published as Franciscus Jacob Kolsteeg, 68, sentenced for attempted murder of wife