Man acquitted of all choking, assault charges involving mum and son in Mackay region

A jury took less than an hour to return their verdict for a man accused of choking his partner and assaulting her teen son.

The man, in his 40s and who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to choking and assault charges.

A jury took barely 30 minutes to find a man not guilty of choking his partner and assaulting her teen son after all three were involved in a violent outburst at their Mackay region home.

The woman had alleged she was terrified, struggling for air and “couldn’t feel my feet on the ground” after her then-partner allegedly picked her up by her throat and pushed her against a wall of their home.

She further alleged in a Mackay District Court trial she saw the man repeatedly assault her then 16-year-old son, who she said had engaged with him after seeing his mother on the ground, including punching him to the head, kneeing him in the face and that “he was bleeding from his eye socket.”

The man, in his 40s and who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to choking and assault charges.

The court heard he denied to police there were repeated blows, but told officers there was a single strike to the teen.

He also denied choking the woman and said “his hand may have accidentally slipped up at some point but there was no application of force to the neck such that breathing was restricted”, the court heard.

The court heard the couple had been in a “toxic” relationship for about a year that involved cross domestic violence orders when the alleged attack occurred at their Mackay region home in 2022.

After a three-day trial in Mackay District Court the jury delivered not guilty verdicts on both charges about 30 minutes after they began deliberation.

Originally published as Man acquitted of all choking, assault charges involving mum and son in Mackay region