Ikey Benjamin Donnelly sentenced in Townsville District Court for strangling woman outside Mornington Island Hospital

A man was captured on CCTV strangling a woman on the ground outside a hospital after she rejected going home with him. Warning: distressing content.

Ikey Benjamin Donnelly was sentenced in Townsville District Court for strangling a woman outside an NQ hospital. Picture: Facebook

A man who was fuelled by ‘home brew’ when he began punching a woman in a violent assault that was ultimately triggered when she rejected him, has fronted court to be sentenced for the shocking attack.

Ikey Benjamin Donnelly appeared in Townsville District Court on Thursday morning via video link from Lotus Glen Correctional Centre.

Crown prosecutor Ms Singh told the court on March 26 last year the 33-year-old and the woman had been drinking with a group of others at an address in Mornington Island when he asked her to go home with him, which she declined.

The court was told the pair had separated a month earlier.

“He punched her to the mouth and shortly after he kneed her to the right eye and caused a fracture to the eye socket,” the crown said.

“She left the address and began walking to the hospital, (Donnelly) followed her and grabbed her arm several times to prevent her from making it there.”

When outside the hospital entrance, the man continued to pull on the woman’s arm and during the struggle she fell to the ground where he strangled her for 30 to 40 seconds, the court was told.

“She couldn’t breathe, the strangulation left bruising and swelling and it only stopped when she hit him in the groin,” the crown said.

“She stood up and he continued to wrestle with her until she agreed to tell the hospital staff a false story about how she sustained the injuries.”

When the pair entered the hospital, the man told staff she had been in a fight with other women – however when the man ducked to the waiting area the woman told a nurse of how the man choked her and caused the bruising and marks on her neck, the crown said.

CCTV footage of the abuse that occurred outside the hospital entrance was played in court, where the man could be seen still holding onto the woman as they approached the building.

The crown said that the man was found by police after he took his mum’s car for a drive unauthorised and presented a blood alcohol reading of 0.204.

Defence barrister Michael Hibble instructed by Resolute Legal told the court Donnelly was a “product of his environment”, and said the man claimed to have experienced a violent upbringing.

He also explained that while Mornington Island was a dry community, residents combined orange juice, bread and sugar and let it ferment in the bush until it turned into an alcohol which is what Donnelly had consumed on the night.

“It can be as high as 50 to 60 per cent, you can’t imagine drinking fermented orange juice on a hot summer’s day but that’s the addiction my client has,” Mr Hibble said.

Judge John Coker highlighted the severity of the choking charge to Donnelly as he nodded in agreement.

“There can be such dreadful consequences to strangulation, so it obviously is the most serious of the offences,” he said.

He told the man he needed to address his problem with alcohol in order to stay out of jail.

Donnelly pleaded guilty to strangulation, assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, unlawful use of a car, dangerous operation of a vehicle, driving under the influence and driving without a licence.

He was sentenced to three years’ jail, with 473 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served and was given an immediate parole release date.

He was disqualified from driving for a total of three years.

Originally published as Ikey Benjamin Donnelly sentenced in Townsville District Court for strangling woman outside Mornington Island Hospital