Horror DV: Toowoomba man attacks pregnant partner with machete

After a woman jumped out of a moving car to escape a violent partner who was threatening to kill her, she thought she was safe until the man jumped out from the darkness and began hacking at her with a machete.

William Kenneth James Brown pleaded guilty to attacking his former partner with a machete while she was trying to flee from the enraged and jealous man.

A court heard a pregnant and homeless Toowoomba woman was subjected to horrific acts of domestic violence, where she was hunted down in the street and attacked with a machete.

The man, William Kenneth James Brown, was on a suspended sentence for assaulting a different partner when he committed the domestic violence crimes.

The 38-year-old appeared at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court via video link from jail on Tuesday, March 26, and pleaded guilty to 13 charges which included, drug offences, unlawful use of a car, and assault while armed in a domestic violence setting.

The court heard in late 2023, the couple were living out of a ‘stolen’ car Brown has borrowed from the woman’s family, but failed to return.

William Kenneth James Brown pleaded guilty to attacking his former partner with a machete while she was trying to flee from the enraged and jealous man.

Hours-long public DV incident

The court heard a jealous and enraged Brown, assaulted the woman on a number of occasions throughout a five week period, however the court heard the most serious incident occurred on October 21.
Police prosecutor Nicholas Pratt said the protracted incident began at the Southern Hotel in Kearneys Spring after an argument between the pair started over Brown’s jealousy issues.

He said the woman grew extremely fearful of Brown and locked herself in a toilet cubical, however Brown tried to break in and began to threaten and abuse the woman.

“Get the f**k out into the car. You’re going to get it when I get out there,” Brown threatened.

When security forcibly removed Brown from the venue, Mr Pratt said Brown threatened to shoot his way through security and take the woman with him.

“He contacted her… and coerced her to leave the hotel with him stating he wasn’t going to hit her again,” he said.

While driving towards Drayton Park, he threatened the woman with the machete.

“I’ll kill you with this motherf**ker,” he said.

Brown appeared at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court via video link from jail on Tuesday, March 26, and pleaded guilty to 13 charges which included, drug offenses, unlawful use of a car, and assault while armed in a domestic violence setting.

Mr Pratt said the woman opened the car door while it was moving, forcing Brown to stop the vehicle.

“(She) started to walk towards a safe location because she hadn’t seen the defendant come back at this stage,” he said.

“While she was walking the defendant came up from the darkness and struck her multiple times with the machete... to the leg.”

The court heard the woman did not suffer serious injuries as the blade was blunt.

He then forced her back into the car and said, “you better not leave me or I will kill you. I swear on my kid’s life,”.

While the car was moving slowly, Mr Pratt said the woman again jumped from the car, however, this time she ran up to people that were walking nearby and pleaded for help.

Police soon arrived, however, it took officers 51 days to locate and arrest Brown, who was picked up riding a bike with no helmet along Magistrate Street in possession of drug pipes, and needles.

Relapse blamed for violence

The court heard the longstanding drug addict was in an opioid program to address his addiction, however he became homeless and missed his monthly dose before the offending began.

William Kenneth James Brown pleaded guilty to attacking his former partner with a machete while she was trying to flee from the enraged and jealous man.

Solicitor Phil Statham said the Cunnamulla-raised man then relapsed into meth use, and blamed the violent offending on the drug.

He said Brown was in an on-and-off relationship with the victim for about a decade, and he was aware if he wanted to be involved in their child’s life he needed to address and seek help for his behavioral issues.

Since Brown’s incarceration, Mr Statham said he was much healthier and had put on a lot of weight.

He noted when Brown was four, his father was killed, and when he was 17 years old, he was in a fatal car crash that claimed the life of his cousin.

The father’s fifth child is due on July 9, 2024.

Sentence

Magistrate Louise Shephard said Brown had “shown himself to be a violent person,” noting the victim would have been terrified.

Ms Shephard said the armed assault was the most concerning incident, however noted on other occasions while in the car, Brown hit her in the face with a torch and his fists.

The court heard the woman was too scared to fight back or argue because she feared Brown would kill her.

Ms Shephard asked Brown, how would he feel if someone treated his 16-year-old daughter in the same way, or if his sons followed in his footsteps.

“You need to lead by example,” she said.

She told Brown she hoped he was genuine in his desire to address his behavioral issues.

Brown’s suspended sentence was activated, and he was sentenced to a 15-month jail term.

The 154 days he spent in custody were declared as time served.

His parole release date is May 23, 2024.