Domestic violence offender faces Toowoomba District Court for assaulting, strangling wife

A Toowoomba man has faced court for an assault on his wife that saw one of their children run to get help from a neighbour fearing their father was going to murder their mother.

A judge has condemned the actions of a Glenvale man who assaulted his wife, in front of their children, that saw one of them flee to a neighbour to get help.

The 31-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, faced Toowoomba District Court on Tuesday where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to four charges of common assault, suffocation in a domestic relationship, wilful damage and three charges of breaching a domestic violence order.

The horrifying incident began on the evening of September 5, 2021, after the man had been drinking heavily, the court was told.

Tensions were high between the couple, who were married in 2013, after the man didn’t help his wife put the children to bed, Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie said.

After taking exception to his wife not making room for him in bed, the defendant picked her up and threw her to the ground.

The victim left the room with the man pushing her to the ground multiple times.

Ms Petrie said the assault continued when the man put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming, suffocating her as a result.

The court was told the victim feigned unconsciousness, at which point the man walked away.

The couple’s two children, aged 13 and seven at the time, attempted to intervene, fearing for their mother’s safety.

After one child attempted to call for help, the man took two phones, threw one at the victim and broke the second, yelling to the victim, “this is all your fault”.

One of the children ran to a neighbour, who returned armed with a hockey stick, before police arrived.

The man’s barrister David Jones said his client was deeply remorseful and embarrassed about his actions.

Telling the court his client was sorry for what he did, the man described the relationship as deteriorating by September 2020 where they were “separated while under the same roof”.

Mr Jones told the court that despite the offences his client was a “good father” who was supported by family.

Judge Michael Byrne QC denounced the man’s conduct as “abhorrent” and a “petulant drunken rampage” that was aggravated by the fact the children were pleading with their father to not kill their mother.

“I hope he is thoroughly disgraced by his conduct,” Judge Byrne QC said.

The judge said the man’s actions showed “callousness” after the he left the victim after she pretended to pass out after he placed her hand over her mouth, while also accidentally blocking her nostrils.

“Two children were exposed to all of this … that is one of the greatly aggravating features,” he said.

“Children in our community cannot be exposed to domestic violence, nobody should be exposed to it. Children cannot be brought up thinking this is normal behaviour, it is not.

“(The victim) thought she was going to be killed and pleaded not to be because she was a mother.”

The man was jailed for 21 months, wholly suspended for two years. Convictions were recorded.