Leigh Daniel Farmer, Redbank Plains, fronts Ipswich Court for strangling partner

An Ipswich man told his girlfriend to call her son and say goodbye, before strangling her with a belt during a terrifying display of domestic violence.

Leigh Daniel Farmer outside Ipswich Magistrates Court on August 29, 2023. Picture: Nicola McNamara

An Ipswich man threatened to kill his long-distance girlfriend with a kitchen knife, just days after she flew from overseas for their first reunion since the pandemic.

Redbank Plains resident Leigh Daniel Farmer, 41, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court on August 29 to strangulation in a domestic setting, assault occasioning bodily harm (DV), and threatening violence (DV).

Crown prosecutor Luke Smoothy noted Farmer had originally been charged with deprivation of liberty and an additional charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.

However, he said the Crown would no longer proceed on those charges.

The court heard Farmer had assaulted his long-distance girlfriend when she came to visit him in July last year for the first time after the pandemic.

On July 18, 2022, she returned to Farmer’s Redbank Plains home to find him angry and intoxicated.

Mr Smoothy said Farmer had been suspicious that police were “interested in him” because of something his partner had done – which she denied.

The court heard Farmer pushed the woman multiple times, spat at her, poked her in the face and kneed her in the leg.

He then slapped her, pulled her hair, and slammed her head into a wall.

Mr Smoothy said Farmer had further threatened the woman that he was “not afraid to stab her”.

He said Farmer then told the woman to call her son and “tell him goodbye because it was her last day” before threatening: “I can do anything to you”.

Leigh Daniel Farmer outside Ipswich Magistrates Court on August 29, 2023. Picture: Nicola McNamara

The court heard Farmer then used a belt to strangle his partner for around a minute, during which she struggled to breathe.

Farmer removed the belt and retrieved a knife from the kitchen, which Mr Smoothy noted was around 20cm long.

He said Farmer had held the knife to the woman’s torso and then threatened to stab and kill her.

The court heard the argument settled down after that and Farmer apologised.

The woman suffered bruising to her face, neck, arms, chest and groin.

Farmer was arrested in the days following and spent the next 403 days in custody waiting for his sentence.

The court heard only 297 of those days could be counted towards his current sentence, because he had been on parole for previous offending at the time.

Defence barrister James Wallace said his client had engaged in a number of programs throughout his time in custody to assist his rehabilitation and had been a “fairly model prisoner”.

“It seems clear that Mr Farmer has identified his problem in life – which is alcohol,” Mr Wallace said.

“He accepts entirely that if he doesn’t deal with his alcohol problem, he’ll just come back to jail again and again.”

Judge Ken Barlow KC noted Farmer’s alcohol issues were clearly reflected in his “not insignificant” criminal history.

He warned Farmer he should be “very careful” in future relationships.

“Strangulation in a domestic setting is often a precursor to a murder or manslaughter … To do it with a belt is even more serious,” he said.

Farmer was sentenced to three years imprisonment, immediately suspended for three years.

His 297 days of presentence custody were declared time-served, and he was also sentenced to two years’ probation.

Originally published as Leigh Daniel Farmer, Redbank Plains, fronts Ipswich Court for strangling partner