Amy Goldfinch guilty of destroying property of ex-hubby Zen Rattray

A “toxic” marriage breakdown between a young Tasmanian couple led to destroyed property and allegations the wife assaulted her husband twice and doused him and his clothes in bleach.

A Tasmanian woman snapped her husband’s sunglasses and doused his work jacket in bleach during a “toxic” breakdown in their marriage, a court has heard.

Prospect Vale woman Amy Catherine Goldfinch, 32, was also accused of assaulting her ex-husband Zen Rattray, 33, twice in mid-2021, but the prosecution discontinued the charges of common assault after Mr Rattray was cross-examined in Launceston Magistrates Court on Monday.

Goldfinch had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of destroying property, admitting she snapped Mr Rattray’s sunnies on June 11 last year and doused his Cat work jacket in bleach on June 28, but denied she assaulted Mr Rattray twice on the latter occasion.

She was placed on a nine-month good-behaviour bond. No convictions were recorded.

Mr Rattray earlier told the court the brief marriage had been in trouble in the months leading up to June 28, when the pair became involved in multiple arguments throughout the day at Goldfinch’s Prospect Vale property he also resided at.

Zen Rattray, 33, and ex-wife Amy Catherine Goldfinch, 32, who pleaded guilty to destroying property belonging to Mr Rattray but had charges of assaulting him discontinued. Picture: Facebook

Mr Rattray alleged he attended the residence at some point throughout the day to collect clothing, at which point, following an argument in the kitchen, Goldfinch “beat the crap out of me” by punching him and scratching his face.

He told the court he fled outside, inadvertently locking himself out, at which point he attempted to gain access to the property via a laundry window while a friend attempted to distract Goldfinch at the front of the house.

Mr Rattray then claimed Goldfinch came around the back and, seeing him “three-quarters of the way” through the window, pulled him inside and repeatedly kneed and struck him to his head and torso.

He alleged that when he attempted to gather a basket of laundry, she poured bleach all over him and the clothes, destroying them.

Photographs were tendered to the court showing Mr Rattray with a series of scratches to his face.

Under cross-examination, Mr Rattray told the court his memory of June 28 was “a blur” – he said his father passed away the day afterwards – after defence lawyer Fran McCracken pointed out inconsistencies in his account.

When it was put to Mr Rattray that it was clear he was not welcome in the home after the first alleged incident in the kitchen, and that rather than leaving he “broke in” to Goldfinch’s home, he agreed.

The prosecution discontinued the charges of common assault after this admission.

Ms McCracken told the court her client, a mother-of-two who previously worked at an aluminium smelter, had no like offending in her history.

“It was a toxic ending to the relationship, she accepts that in moments of anger she took it out on inanimate objects,” Ms McCracken said.

“She’s been in other significant relationships before and nothing like this has happened.”
Magistrates Simon Brown agreed the offending was out of character.

Originally published as Amy Goldfinch guilty of destroying property of ex-hubby Zen Rattray