Samuel Ian Paterson: Beenleigh man at wheel for crash that killed son unveiled as violent DV thug
A southeast Qld man involved last month in a crash that killed his young son, who died at a police station after being taken there by a bystander, has been jailed for bashing the late boy’s mum repeatedly.
A Queensland man who was involved in a crash that killed his three-year-old son last month has been jailed for a string of “appalling” domestic violence bashings against the little boy’s mum.
Beenleigh’s Samuel Ian Paterson, 24, appeared in Southport District Court on November 11, where he pleaded guilty to eight offences committed predominantly on the Gold Coast between April 24 and June 15 last year.
They included, most seriously, four counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, committed against his partner and two counts of wilful damage.
On April 24 at Springbrook, Paterson and the complainant were seated in their vehicle in the driveway of a friend’s residence arguing when “without warning” the defendant punched her in the left eye, causing bruising, Crown prosecutor Peter Kelly said.
On May 18 at a hotel in Upper Mount Gravatt, the pair were again arguing, this time about money – Paterson told the woman to “go get a job or ‘hock your box’,” a reference to prostitution – when he punched her in the face three times, causing bruising to both cheeks and the left side of her jaw, as well as a split lip.
On a date unknown between May 18 and June 13 at Broadbeach’s Aruba Surf Resort, the pair again argued about money before Paterson grabbed the woman by the throat, leaving finger marks and redness, Mr Kelly told the court.
Police attended the hotel room and discovered Paterson had punched holes in a wall and door, the court heard.
The final assault occurred on June 15 at Surfers Paradise’s Oaks Gold Coast Hotel.
Paterson grabbed the woman by the arm and threw her on to a bed, causing her to strike her ribs on the bed frame, before slapping her in the face, causing a nosebleed.
Mr Kelly described the assaults as “appalling [and] degrading”.
The prosecutor told the court Paterson had spent no time in pre-sentence custody relating to the current offending – however, he had been remanded in custody since October 25 this year following the death of his three-year-old son.
Paterson was at the wheel driving his partner, their son Caden Case, and a third person when, at 5am on the day in question, the family’s Mazda 323 veered into bushland at Eastern Service Rd at the border between Yatala and Stapylton, leaving Caden critically injured.
Paterson and the third person in the crumpled vehicle decamped the scene, while a passer-by took Caden and his mother to Beenleigh Police Station, where Caden died from his injuries.
Paterson was subsequently charged with breaching bail and contravening a domestic violence order related to his presence in the vehicle, but he has not been charged with any offences over the crash itself or Caden’s death.
In court on Tuesday, Judge Deborah Holliday KC remarked there was “some uncertainty whether [Paterson] will be charged with additional offences” over his involvement in the crash and Caden’s subsequent death.
She said the defendant had some “dysfunctionality” in his childhood but had maintained a “reasonable” employment record.
Further, he presented to the court with only a minor criminal record, mostly related to nuisance-type offending, for which he had never had convictions recorded nor served time in custody.
However, he had been abusing alcohol and cannabis, which the judge believed was the “cause of much of his maladaptive coping strategies”.
She sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment with release on court-ordered parole after serving six months, which is due to fall on May 10, 2026.
Paterson is next listed to appear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court for the outstanding two charges, to which he has not entered pleas, on November 19.
An online fundraiser established by Brittney Moffitt to support Caden’s mother – Ms Moffitt’s cousin – in the wake of the boy’s death has raised $7350.
“She’s [Caden’s mother] only 22 and has just lost her baby.... and her heart is breaking,” Ms Moffitt wrote.
“May our little angel boy rest in peace.”
