10 DV cases that have shocked Gladstone in 2024

From chilling threats to heinous acts, here are some of the worst domestic violence cases to go before Gladstone courts this year. *Distressing.

Gladstone courts have heard some shocking cases of domestic violence so far in 2024. Generic image.

There have been some shocking cases of domestic violence dealt with in Gladstone courts so far this year.

Here are some of the worst:

DV offender choked woman until she passed out

Dale Kevin Trevor Murray, 39, choked a woman until she passed out and wet herself – then when she regained consciousness he committed further disgusting acts, Gladstone Magistrates Court heard.

Murray appeared in custody in court where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to charges including assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence offence).

Dale Kevin Trevor Murray.

The court heard Murray’s offending involved him putting his hands around the female victim’s throat and applying pressure, which caused her to lose consciousness and wet herself.

The court was told that after the woman regained consciousness, Murray spat in her face “numerous times.”

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced Murray to two years’ jail, declared 59 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole release at May 12, 2024.

Convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

‘Going to slice your neck’: Man hid in bushland near woman’s home

A man threatened to slice a woman’s neck and burn her house down in a protracted domestic violence attack, Gladstone Magistrates Court heard.

Between 9.39pm and midnight on January 19, the Gladstone man contacted the victim eight times by phone which breached a DV order that had no contact conditions.

During some of the calls, the man made the threats which caused the woman to fear for her safety.

He said things such as “burn the house down”; “can you smell that?”; “wait until I get you”; “I’m going to slice your neck.”

The next day, the man contacted the woman by phone 90 times and made the exact same threats.

That same day, the woman saw the man was a passenger in a vehicle that drove past her Gladstone home despite him not being allowed to come within 100m of it.

Police then saw the man on foot in bushland near the woman’s home.

The 27-year-old man, who by law cannot be named, appeared in custody in court where he pleaded guilty to two counts each of contravening a domestic violence order and obstructing police.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced the man to nine months’ jail, declared 32 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole eligibility at March 20, 2024.

Convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

DV offender moved from woman to woman

A man who “loved bombed” his third domestic violence victim was moving from aggrieved to aggrieved, Gladstone Magistrates Court heard.

The 31-year-old, who by law cannot be named, appeared in custody in court where he pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Merrilyn Hoskins said the man had two stalking offences on his criminal history, and this latest offending involved his third domestic violence victim.

Sergeant Hoskins outlined some of the man’s previous offending which included contacting a prior victim more than 11,000 times over a four-month period.

In relation to his latest offending, Sergeant Hoskins said the man had “love bombed” the female victim to make her feel too guilty to break up with him.

“That included threats of suicide as well as threats to kill the aggrieved and her children,” Sergeant Hoskins said.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced the man to six months’ jail, declared 23 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and granted immediate parole release.

Convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

35+ DV convictions: Thug’s latest attack on a woman revealed

A man with 35 domestic violence convictions to his name was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court for brutally bashing a woman.

Scott Daniel Malcolm Riggs, 30, appeared in custody in court where he pleaded guilty to offences including assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence offence).

The court heard that Riggs had criminal histories in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

It was told his nine-page Queensland criminal history included 35 convictions for domestic violence offences.

Scott Daniel Malcolm Riggs.

In relation to the assault occasioning bodily harm (AOBH), the most serious of his three latest offences, the court heard that about 4am on December 26 last year, Riggs and the female aggrieved got into a verbal argument.

During the argument, Riggs threw a lighter in the victim’s direction but it did not hit her.

Police prosecutor Jennifer Leach said the argument then escalated and Riggs struck the woman “multiple times” in the face with a closed fist.

Ms Leach said the woman suffered bruising and soreness under her left eye.

The court was told that Riggs’ 35 prior DV convictions involved multiple victims.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced Riggs to 12 months’ jail, declared 36 days pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole eligibility at April 26, 2024.

A conviction was recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Five DV orders - all with different women

A Gladstone man who broke a woman’s phone in a domestic violence attack had five domestic violence orders against him with five different women, the Magistrates Court heard.

The man, who by law cannot be named, appeared in custody in court where he pleaded guilty to three counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Jessica McLaren said the man had gone to the aggrieved woman’s home without her permission on the night of December 2.

The next morning, he returned to her residence to collect his property.

“He entered the dwelling and began accusing her of sleeping with other people,” Senior Constable McLaren said.

“He broke her phone and refused to leave.”

The woman called police.

The court heard the man was a respondent in four other DV orders with different women and he had previous DV offending on his criminal history.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced the man to six months’ jail, declared 49 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed immediate parole.

Convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Teen ‘sexually assaulted’ in military became DV offender

Devastating details about a Central Queensland man’s ongoing mental health battles after he was “sexually assaulted” as a teenager while serving in the Australian military were heard by Gladstone Magistrates Court.

The court was told the man in his 30s, who by law cannot be named, served four years in the military from the age of 18.

It heard the man had been seen as “fresh meat” when, at the age of 18, he was sexually assaulted in the military through the practice of “hazing”.

By definition, hazing refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of their willingness to participate.

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order with the offending happening over a period between 2021 and 2022.

The court heard the man and the aggrieved had exchanged 13,664 text messages which included “unpleasantness in both directions.”

Magistrate Mary Buchanan fined the man $1500 and convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Man assaults woman over ‘pretty trivial’ electricity use

A man who assaulted his partner after refusing to let her use electricity she didn’t pay for, was sentenced in the District Court at Gladstone.

Joshua Matthew Allinson, 33, pleaded guilty to common assault and wilful damage (domestic violence offences).

The court heard Allinson had been in a relationship with the female victim for about a month, when on June 4 last year, the offending happened.

Joshua Matthew Allinson.

After Allinson got out of bed that morning, the pair got into an argument and he told her that she couldn’t use the electricity to charge her laptop because she didn’t pay for it.

The woman kept trying to plug her laptop in but Allinson kept unplugging it.

She then unplugged Allinson’s computer and he reacted by grabbing her, throwing her onto a couch, and holding her throat with one hand.

The court heard that Allinson held the woman’s throat for about four seconds.

A short time later, the pair got into a scuffle and Allinson grabbed the woman’s mobile phone and threw it onto the road, which smashed its screen.

In relation to this incident, Judge Craig Chowdhury said it was a “pretty trivial” reason to get into an argument.

Judge Chowdhury noted that Allinson had spent 23 days in pre-sentence custody.

He sentenced Allinson to three months’ jail, suspended after serving 23 days, for an operational period of three months.

A conviction was recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Serial DV offender uploads woman’s private pics to OnlyFans, Insta

A serial domestic violence offender uploaded intimate photos of his victim to OnlyFans - but his crimes didn’t end there.

The 36-year-old man, who by law cannot be named, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

Before explaining the two offences, police prosecutor Sergeant Merrilyn Hoskins outlined the man’s domestic violence history which included six prior DV offences.

One of those offences included the woman finding out the man had uploaded intimate images of them both on Twitter, Instagram and OnlyFans.

“(The man) was the only person who had access to those images,” Sgt Hoskins said.

Later, the man sent a video of the woman performing oral sex, to another man.

In relation to the two latest offences before the court, they happened in September last year and March this year.

The first involved the pair walking into a Gladstone store together and the second involved police finding the man inside the woman’s home.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan declared 10 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served and sentenced the man to four months’ jail, wholly suspended for 15 months, with immediate parole.

She also activated the three suspended sentences to be served cumulatively.

Convictions were recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Man’s threat to have DV victim’s fingers cut off

Young children were present when a man told his partner he would organise someone to bash her father, run through the house and cut her fingers off, Gladstone Magistrates Court heard.

The 29-year-old, who by law cannot be named, pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

The court heard that on December 31, the man, who had been drinking “heavily” got into an argument with his partner and started yelling, swearing and abusing her.

Police prosecutor Kelvin Boyd said young children were in the house at the time and one of them became increasingly anxious about the situation.

Mr Boyd said the man told the woman he would organise someone to bash her father, run through the house and cut her fingers off.

The woman locked herself in a bedroom with the children.

Mr Boyd said the man then smashed a TV in the living room beyond repair and forced entry to the bedroom the woman and children were in.

He continued to yell and swear at the woman.

Mr Boyd said the man grabbed the woman’s chin and threw her off the bed, causing her to “feel pins and needles throughout her body.”

The prosecutor said the man followed the woman around the house and continued to yell and scream at her until police arrived.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan placed the man on 12 months’ probation and no conviction was recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Police find serial DV offender ‘hiding in the closet’

A serial domestic violence offender tried to hide from police in a closet, Gladstone Magistrates Court heard.

The 25-year-old man, who by law cannot be named, appeared in custody in court where he pleaded guilty to contravening a domestic violence order.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Kevin Ongheen said at 10.38am on January 23, police responded “under a priority code” to a Gladstone home where there was “lots of yelling and screaming”.

After arriving at the residence, police found the female victim emotional and crying.

Police then searched the home to see if there was anyone else there, and in an upstairs bedroom they found the man “hiding in the closet”.

Under the DV order, the man was not allowed to approach the aggrieved woman.

The court heard that it was the man’s residence but he had offended by allowing the woman inside.

Prior to sentencing, Magistrate Mary Buchanan noted the man had a “serious history” of contravening domestic violence orders including stalking.

She sentenced him to two months’ jail, wholly suspended for 12 months. A conviction was recorded. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Originally published as 10 DV cases that have shocked Gladstone in 2024