Grant Nathan Russell appealed jail term for ‘vicious and brutal’ domestic violence attack in Bowral

A man has appealed his jail sentence for a “vicious and brutal attack” on a woman during which he strangled her until she lost consciousness and he was forced to revive her with CPR.

A man has appealed his jail sentence for a “vicious and brutal attack” on a woman during which he slapped her 100 times and strangled her until she lost consciousness and he was forced to revive her with CPR.

Grant Nathan Russell, 34, appeared in Campbelltown District Court on Friday to appeal his sentence after being convicted of intimidation, intentionally choking a person, assault, resisting a police officer, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and two counts of breaching an apprehended violence order.

On the afternoon of April 27, police facts show Russell was drinking straight rum and arguing with his partner. According to the facts, he accused her of being unfaithful and slapped her across the face several times before he bit her on the forearm and face.

Grant Nathan Russell appealed to the District Court after being jailed for a ‘vicious and brutal’ attack on a woman. Picture: Facebook

According to the police facts, a witness heard Russell call the victim a “dirty filthy s***” and heard her sobbing. The facts reveal the two continued to argue and he pinned her to the ground and straddled her as he put his hands around her throat and strangled her.

Russell told police he was worried he’d gone too far when he continued to choke the victim until she passed out. He started doing CPR with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate the victim, according to the facts.

Judge Andrew Colefax said Russell “took advantage” of the situation by slapping the victim 100 times.

The facts state Russell then bit the top of the victim’s head, her forearm, and her face. The facts show she was scared for her life as he told her he would kill her.

The next morning, a witness saw the victim’s face was swollen, her right eye was swollen shut, and she had a large red mark on her neck and prominent bite mark on her forearm.

The next month on the evening of May 30, the facts show Russell’s mother heard screams and entered his house to find him pinning the victim to the bed by both hands.

The couple continued arguing and Russell’s mother stepped in between them while holding a child, but Russell grabbed her by the arm and wrist and snatched the child. His mother fell to the floor and hurt her hip, the facts state.

When she tried to take the child back, the facts show Russell put his mother in a headlock and dragged her away. She fled the house and the victim tried to follow, but the facts state Russell pinned her to the wall and slapped her across the face.

Russell’s mother, who was left with significant bruising, told police her son consumed three quarters of a bottle of scotch before the assault. Officers arrested Russell at around 8.30pm but he became agitated and physically resisted police, according to the facts.

The offences took place in the rural town of Cowra in Western NSW. Picture: Tourism NSW.

The victim later told police he called her a “s***, w****, and c***” and this behaviour happened whenever he drank.

Court documents reveal Russell admitted to drinking a daily bottle of scotch and using two grams of cannabis a day prior to the offences. According to the documents, Russell has longstanding mental health issues and had attempted suicide only a month before the first offence.

In Picton Court on December 13, Russell was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment for the offences.

However, his lawyer argued in Campbelltown District Court that Russell should be granted a more lenient sentence because of his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues.

The court heard Russell suffers from major depressive disorder and anxiety which have been exacerbated in jail, particularly during a prison riot where gas grenades were deployed. Russell told the court he had been engaged in counselling prior to his incarceration, but he has been unable to access prison counselling services due to a backlog.

The crown prosecutor noted Russell had previously sought assistance for drug and alcohol abuse and his mental health, but had continued to reoffend afterwards.

“You’ve had a history of violent offending. You’ve been before the courts a number of times for domestic violence,” the crown prosecutor told Russell.

“The courts have given you chances in terms of supervision orders in the past.”

He told the court the offender didn’t have “any real insight” into his behaviour and the sentence imposed had been fair.

Judge Colefax said Russell undermined his expression of regret with his late plea of guilty.

Nathan Grant Russell appeared in Campbelltown District Court via audiovisual link on February 11, 2022.

“If the appellant was remorseful, his plea should have been entered significantly earlier than it was,” he said.

The Judge noted Russell subjected the victim to a “vicious and brutal attack” of domestic violence, for which he said there was no excuse.

He acknowledged the offender‘s “very significant” mental health issues and the longstanding drug and alcohol issues, but said Russell was engaged in changing.

“It is impressive that after his arrest, the appellant took meaningful steps (finally it would seem) to address his issues”.

Judge Colefax determined to reduce Russell’s sentence by six months and increase his non-parole period to two years.

Russell will be eligible for parole on December 12, 2023 – halfway through his now four year sentence.