Blake Mulholland sentenced for 18 charges of domestic violence

A woman was subjected to a “campaign of fear and violence” – including a vicious choking that left her unable to speak for two weeks – during her “threatening, controlling and abusive” relationship with a south Sydney man.

Blake Mulholland, 31, was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court for 18 charges of domestic violence in 11 incidents from June 2021 to December last year. Picture: Facebook

A Kirrawee man has been jailed for committing “unhinged, cruel and violent” assaults on his partner – including a vicious choking which left her unable to speak for two weeks – during a sustained “campaign of fear” in their relationship.

Blake Mulholland, 31, was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday for 18 charges of domestic violence in 11 incidents from June 2021 to December last year.

Agreed facts tendered to court state in June 2021 Mulholland became aggressive and abusive towards his girlfriend, calling her derogatory names before threatening to kill her during an argument.

The woman went to have a shower to de-escalate the argument but Mulholland followed her.

She was sitting when he reached into the shower, put his hand around her throat, squeezed and released a number of times and slammed her head into a tiled wall.

Mulholland was jailed for three years.

“Please don’t do this, please stop, don’t kill me,” she said.

Mulholland squeezed tighter to the point the woman could not talk or breathe and her vision faded.

The victim had soreness and swelling at the front of her neck and found it difficult to swallow and breathe for weeks.

She was unable to open her mouth the next day, could not speak for two weeks and it took a month for her voice to return.

Magistrate Hugh Donnelly said the assault was a “vicious, cowardly and callous attack on a person who was physically trapped in a shower in a vulnerable position”.

The court also heard other incidents of assault and intimidation including on one occasion when Mulholland threatened to smash a plate on his partner’s XXX before he kicked over a chair she was seated on and then bit her finger.

“You’re lucky I don’t f------ stab you now,” he said, adding “you deserve to be hurt because you always ruin my dinner”.

Mulholland also breached an apprehended violence order when he visited his partner after being released on bail.

The woman also sustained a gash to her leg when Mulholland pushed her, a lump to the back of the head when he pulled her off the bed and he threatened to kill her multiple times.

Mr Donnelly said Mulholland subjected his partner to a “campaign of fear and violence” over a long period which was “threatening, controlling and abusive” and caused the victim “physical and psychological harm”.

The court heard Mulholland consumed alcohol and cannabis daily during the relationship and he was a victim of a violent kidnapping 13 years ago when he was 18 years old, where he was bound and beaten by his captors and sustained significant injuries.

As a result he suffered depression, PTSD, anxiety and was medicated.

The court heard Mulholland only completed six counselling sessions for violence while on bail and completed a domestic violence course in custody.

The court heard Mulholland accepted limited responsibility for his actions and blamed the victim, admitting he was a controlling and jealous partner but denied he was aggressive.

Mr Donnelly noted Mulholland acted in an “unhinged, cruel and violent fashion” and because of his several largely unaddressed conditions he remained a risk to the victim and any future partner.

Mulholland was sentenced to a jail term of three years and six months with a non-parole period of two years and two months.

He will be eligible for release to parole on 13 October 2025.