Man jailed for stomping auntie’s head in brutal attack after mother’s birthday party

A man who brutally assaulted his aunty, stomping her head and squeezing her throat until she thought she would die, will spend at least a year in jail. FULL STORY >>

A MAN who stomped his auntie’s head after his mother’s birthday party – after insisting she scull a glass of whisky and “kiss me” – has been jailed for the brutal attack.

Claremont man Justin Andrew Leary, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of assault after he punched the woman several times to the head, stomped her head and squeezed her throat – making her think she would die – on February 7 last year.

While sentencing on Monday, Supreme Court judge Tamara Jago said Leary entered his aunt’s room with a bottle of whisky.

He insisted his aunt drink a glass of whisky and coke, telling her “and then you’ll kiss me”.

Shocked by the comment, the woman slapped Leary in the face, and he fell to the bed laughing before punching her to the head.

“This knocked her to the ground. You sat on top of her and continued to punch her several times to the head. Each time you punched her you said something like ‘what’s my name’ or ‘remember who I am’, Justice Jago said.

Supreme Court of Tasmania, Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

Squeezing her throat so she couldn’t breathe, Leary said “you’ve got one minute and then you’re dead”.

In her published comments on passing sentence, Justice Jago said the woman spent two days in hospital with a lost tooth, bruised ribs, an injury to her ear that required three stitches, a black eye and “very nasty” bruising.

She said Leary had a number of prior convictions for assault, including six for assaulting a police officer.

Justice Jago also said he had a long-term addiction to drugs and alcohol, as well as borderline cognitive function.

“This was a brutal attack. There does not appear to be any real explanation for the level of violence, outside of your intoxication,” she said.

“The pressure to the throat, which affected the complainant’s breathing, was particularly serious. She believed she was going to die. It was a very dangerous thing to do and demands condemnation.”

Leary was jailed for 21 months, backdated to November 2021, with a non-parole period of one year.

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