William Kenneth James Brown accused of striking wife with torch, blunt machete and fist

A 37-year-old is accused of striking his pregnant partner in the forehead with a torch, leaving her bleeding. Here’s what happened in court.

A 37-year-old man accused of striking his de facto partner in the forehead with a torch among other alleged assaults has been refused bail and remanded in custody.

William Kenneth James Brown appeared in custody via videolink from the watch-house when his charges were mentioned before Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

However, after he repeatedly interjected, ignoring magistrate Kay Philipson’s instructions to “be quiet”, the watch house microphone was put on mute on Ms Philipson’s order.

Duty solicitor Phil Stainton nonetheless applied for bail for Mr Brown, telling the court his client and the complainant woman had been together for eight years and that she was pregnant with their first child.

Though Mr Brown had a long history of drug abuse, he had been on the suboxone program for the past two years to address that, he said.

Mr Brown was charged with three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, two of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and one each of failing to take reasonable care with a syringe or needle and committing a public nuisance on licensed premises.

Toowoomba Courthouse

However, police prosecutor Bettina Trenear said police objected to bail, submitting Mr Brown had allegedly made threats to his pregnant partner as well as allegedly assaulting her.

Mr Brown had a lengthy criminal history and was on a suspended sentence and bail for other matters, she said.

Reading from the police objection to bail document, Ms Philipson noted it was alleged Mr Brown had struck his partner in the forehead with a torch leaving her bleeding on October 16, punched her in the face leaving her with a cut to the bridge of her nose on October 19, and on October 22 when the woman tried to de-escalate matters and walked into the toilet at the Southern Hotel, he had allegedly followed her.

Later that night it was alleged by police that Mr Brown had struck his partner with a blunt machete while threatening to kill her, she said.

Telling Mr Brown she believed the woman was at “significant risk”, Ms Philipson refused bail and remanded him in custody and adjourned the matters for mention back in the same court on November 8 with Mr Brown’s appearance in court not required on that date.