Father-of-two Nicholas McCulloch jailed for home-invasion style incident at Broadmeadow home

A convicted killer and father-of-two has again faced court for a much lesser serious offence after an intimidation ploy to collect money from a man went horribly wrong. Read what happened.

CCTV vision of Nicholas McCulloch and Matthew Brennan when Strike Force Raptor North detectives were investigating the break-in and assault at the Broadmeadow unit Credit: NSW Police

A father-of-two with a littered criminal past, including a serious conviction of manslaughter 10 years ago, has told a court he “felt like a failure” when he was again put behind bars for breaking into an apartment and bashing a man over the head with a metal object.

It took a two-year police investigation to arrest and charge Nicholas McCulloch, 37, with aggravated enter dwelling in company after the court heard he and Matthew Brennan entered the Broadmeadow unit on July 11, 2019, to collect money and intimidate the occupant.

Police facts said Brennan was armed with a tomahawk and McCulloch with a metal object when the pair confronted a 31-year-old man and a woman inside the Young Rd premises.

CCTV vision of McCulloch (right) and Brennan (left) when they went into a Broadmeadow unit and a man was assaulted. Credit: NSW Police

The court heard a fight broke out between McCulloch and the man before he hit him over the head several times causing eight lacerations which would later see him taken to John Hunter Hospital.

Police facts detailed that the man then immediately ran from the unit setting off the fire alarm before the pair also fled, the whole incident having lasted for a total of 27 seconds.

In their investigation, Strike Force Raptor North detectives released CCTV vision of the two men in high-vis gear two months later.

It took nearly two years before both were arrested over the attack and both men pleaded guilty.

In Newcastle District Court on Friday McCulloch gave evidence and said he believed he was “finally on a good path in life” and was devastated when he was arrested in 2021 for the incident and put into custody.

“I massively cried, missed my kids, my partner was a mess, felt like I let them down, I felt like a failure,” he said.

He said he wanted to live his life and “I want to be a dad”.

But Crown Prosecutor Lee Carr painted a grim picture of McCulloch’s past which included assaulting police and the most serious charge of manslaughter which he was sentenced to in 2013.

McCulloch on CCTV vision on July 11, 2019. Credit: NSW Police

He was one of four men charged over the death of Bilambil’s Luke Ogilvie, whose body was discovered at his rural property in March, 2010, following a house fire.

McCulloch’s defence solicitor said his client did not intend to harm the man for his latest offence, it just “out of hand” and he showed a certain amount of “recklessness”.

“He’s a good guy. He’s a guy you’d have a beer with. He’s deserving of one last chance.”

Despite talk of a possible jail sentence served within the community Judge Peter McGrath sentenced McCulloch to a two year and six month jail term with a non-parole period of 15 months.

That means he’ll be eligible for release in September next year.

McCulloch said goodbye to his fiance in the courtroom before he was led away by corrective officers.

Mr Brennan who was set to be sentenced on Friday had his matter adjourned until March next year.