A Blackbutt man handed a suspended prison sentence for trying to strangle his wife during a heated argument has failed to have the punishment reduced on appeal.
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Matthew John Murray, 41, pleaded guilty in the local court earlier this year to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm stemming from the November 2014 incident, in which his terrified wife was forced to flee half-dressed from their home to a neighbour's house to seek help.
The court heard Murray had threatened to kill the woman just moments before he grabbed her around the neck, forced her to the floor of their lounge room and began squeezing his fingers around her throat as he climbed on top of her.
Terrified, the victim struggled to break free, twisting her head from side to side, kicking out and clawing at her husband's face with her fingernails until she drew blood.
However, Murray still refused to let go of her neck.
She managed to break free from his grasp and get to her feet a few seconds later when Murray turned to grab a nearby vacuum cleaner pipe.
Murray chased after her, grabbing at her dressing gown as she ran from the house to raise the alarm.
By the time police arrived, Murray had already left the house but he was arrested the following day.
The woman's injuries included bruising and swelling to her throat, which caused her some difficulty in speaking at the time.
Murray was handed a 12-month suspended sentence in the local court earlier this year, but lodged a severity appeal believing he'd been dealt with too harshly.
In the District Court at Sutherland on Tuesday, prosecutor Michael Stollery urged Judge Paul Conlon to uphold the sentence, saying Murray had a history of violence towards women, demonstrated by his multiple convictions for contravening an apprehended violence order against a former partner.
Judge Paul Conlon refused to reduce Murray's punishment, saying the sentence had been entirely appropriate given the level of violence displayed in the attack, as well as his history of domestic-related offences.