Man who threatened to ‘bury’ Brittany Higgins jailed over vile messages

The man who used Instagram to threaten to kill Brittany Higgins, her partner and their dog has been jailed, with his vile messages being revealed in court.

A man who sent vile threats promising to “kill” and “bury” Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz and “cut up” their dog has been jailed after a judge said he had repeatedly ignored warnings given to him for similar offending.

David William Wonnocott was led away by NSW Correctives staff on Wednesday afternoon after he was jailed by NSW District Court Judge John Pickering for using Instagram to threaten Mr Sharaz and his family as well as bombarding others with a stream of hate-filled messages.

The court heard details of the messages the 51-year-old sent Mr Sharaz in April 2022, including that he did not believe Ms Higgins’ allegation that she had been raped inside Parliament House.

The court heard Wonnocott sent Mr Sharaz a private message via Instagram saying: “She’s a useless lying c*** who wasn’t raped”.

David Wonnocott was on Tuesday jailed for threatening Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Scott Powick.

Mr Sharaz replied “aren’t you charming” and told him he was “clearly a bot account”

Wonnocott replied “I know the truth c***, I’m going to pay you a visit”.

Mr Sharaz replied: “Pay me a visit?”

Wonnocott said: “See you soon.”

Mr Sharaz replied: “And do what?”

Wonnott then replied with emojis of a skull and crossbones and a coffin.

He also told Sharaz that he would “bury you both” and “I will kill you both when you least expect it”.

He also told him he knew where he lived and “I‘m going to chop Kingston up into little pieces, I will follow you home from work”.

Kingston is the couple’s cavoodle which features prominently on their social media channels.

Wonnocott pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to threaten to kill Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins.

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper.

According to a victim impact statement read out to the court, Mr Sharaz said: “The escalation of threats made us terrified to leave the house and impacted our life”.

He said it left him worried that the next person who they met in the street was the “nameless and faceless stranger” who threatened to end their lives.

He said it impacted their life - leading him to fork out money for surveillance cameras and security measures and forced him to change his routine.

He also said it ultimately played a part in them moving to the other side of the world. The couple moved to France last year, but ultimately returned.

“Sending threats online is not a joke or a harmless act,” Mr Sharaz said in his victim impact statement.

David Wonnocott was jailed for a series of threats against Mr Sharaz, Ms Higgins and a host of other people. Picture: NewsWire/Scott Powick.

Wonnocott also pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace or harass after he had on 45 occasions sent messages to businesses and people over Instagram and Facebook from July 2022 to February 2023.

They included state MP Alex Greenwich, who is an advocate for LGBTQ causes.

The court heard that he had told Mr Greenwich that he hoped he got “cancer” and “full blown AIDS and died” and that “if I get a gun I’ll kill so many trannies it’s not funny”.

He similarly sent a message to Woolworths saying: “You c**** will burn in hell for all eternity.”

His defence argued that he was suffering from a depressive illness at the time and struggling with the effects of isolation as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz said the barrage of threats led them to fear for their safety. Picture: Supplied.

Judge Pickering said Wonnocott had previously been given the benefit of warnings and leniency from the court.

The court heard he was previously sentenced to three months in jail for sending offensive messages about gay people to the ABC’s Q&A program via an online portal.

However, he had his sentenced reduced on appeal.

Judge Pickering told the court 15 days before he appeared in the District Court for an appeal hearing, he had sent the messages to Mr Sharaz.

Judge Pickering sentenced Wonnocott to three years and two months in jail, with a one-year and four-month non-parole period.

He will be eligible for release in June 2026.

Wonnocott was not present in the Downing Centre in Sydney on Tuesday and instead watched via videolink from a courthouse at Tweed Heads, where he was taken into custody.

Originally published as Man who threatened to ‘bury’ Brittany Higgins jailed over vile messages