Man arms himself with two knives and chilli infused water during horrifying attack on his family

A drunken argument escalated into unthinkable violence when a Western Downs man slashed the throat of his wife of 21 years, and attacked his son with chilli infused water.

A court has been told a Western Downs man violently attacked his wife of 21 years, slashing her throat and spraying chilli infused water at his son during a prolonged assault.

Bradley David Smyth appeared in Dalby District Court from custody, where he has spent the past 364 days, and pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of wounding.

The court was told that on November 13, 2023 the 54-year-old was at his Weranga home which he shared with his partner and two adult children when a drunken argument occurred. The court was told during the argument Smyth called his sons “ungrateful little s--ts” and told them he was going to sell the home.

Smyth’s son then reportedly left the property to grab his friend who entered the house and attempted to calm Smyth down, however he grabbed a six pack of beer and left for the next few hours.

The prosecution told the court that later that day Smyth re-entered the property armed with a boning knife and filleting knife in one hand and a sauce bottle filled with a mixture of chilli and water in the other.

The court was told Smyth attempted to squirt the chilli mix onto his partner, with the liquid splashing onto his son’s friend’s hand burning him.

The prosecution said the family initially believed it was acid in the bottle due to the burning sensation it left on the man’s hand.

The court was told Smyth’s partner then went outside to check on the man’s hand before returning inside where the violent attack continued.

As she walked past Smyth he shoved her causing her to fall onto a couch at which point he swung the two knives in a back hand motion slicing her throat and causing a 7cm laceration.

As she raised her hands to protect herself Smyth swung again in a downward motion stabbing a 2cm gash on her forearm.

The prosecution said the victim was bleeding profusely with blood splashing on her son’s friend.

Judge Benedict Power KC later told Smyth he was lucky the attack had not punctured any major arteries.

Smyth then reportedly smashed his son’s phone calling him a “stupid c--t” and spraying him with the chilli water.

Smyth’s partner and children then managed to escape from the home, driving away and calling the police before his partner was taken to hospital for treatment.

When police arrived they found Smyth with significant cuts to his arms at which point he told police he was the victim and his son had attacked him with scissors and knives, however his son’s friend told police he had seen Smyth sitting outside cutting his own arms.

During his time in custody Smyth was also recorded on a prison phone admitting to cutting himself and lying to police, an action which Judge Power condemned.

He was then taken to the Tara Hospital for treatment before being arrested.

Smyth’s partner and son appeared in court in support of him and during sentencing Judge Power noted their loyalty to him despite his “horrifying actions”.

“Your son didn’t press any charges against you for the assault on him and the destruction of his phone which was well within his rights,” he said.

“Your wife of 21 years also didn’t provide a victim impact statement which is tragic, but shows how much loyalty your family has to you despite your actions.

“I hope you are able to rebuild a relationship with your sons and partner and if not, stay away from them.”

For the attack Smyth was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with a parole release date set for December 20, 2024.

Originally published as Man arms himself with two knives and chilli infused water during horrifying attack on his family