The daughter of a Nowra man who shot up in front of his young children moments before throwing a pair of scissors at their mother later said she was sure her father wanted them dead.
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The 11-year-old, along with her siblings and mother, were forced to flee from their home in a southern Wollongong suburb on the afternoon of May 1 after copping a tirade of verbal abuse from the man including threats to kill them while they slept.
Even members of the public who came to the family’s aid on the street didn’t escape the man’s drug-fuelled wrath; he pulled a knife on one Good Samaritan who dared to help the woman and her children.
He was eventually arrested by police, at which time his daughter told attending officers “I'm sure Daddy just wants to kill us”.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to at least nine months jail in Wollongong Local Court, with presiding magistrate Mark Douglass saying the presence of the children was an aggravating factor.
”It must have been a terrifying ordeal for these young children,” he said.
“It is a known fact that witnessing such conduct has a considerable impact on children’s development.
“The threshold [to impose a jail sentence] is well and truly crossed.”
The court heard there had been a lengthy history of abuse between the man and his partner during their six-year relationship, including allegations he had killed her pets during a domestic incident while they lived in another state.
Police documents tendered to the court said the family had been fishing at Windang around lunchtime on May 1 when the couple got into an argument.
The woman took her partner home and told him to pack his bags and leave.
However he refused to go and began drinking.
He was later seen to inject himself with methamphetamine in full view of the children, just moments before throwing a pair of scissors at the woman, narrowly missing hitting two of the kids.
The victim and her kids fled the house, running onto the street and to a nearby pub.
The man followed them outside, at which time members of the public intervened and police were called.
Officers who searched the man’s house found used syringes on a benchtop and the knife he’d used to threaten the person who came to his partner’s aid in the street.
The court heard when police spoke with the children, one of them showed off a large, deep bruise on her leg, disclosing that her father had hit her with a skipping rope three days earlier.
The man was charged with multiple domestic violence related offences, to which he subsequently pleaded guilty.
Defence lawyer Dave Ryan told the court during the sentencing hearing that his client had recently found out that his own father had been “making sexual advances” towards the children’s mother and had become enraged.
“He very much regrets it and wants to apologise profusely,” Mr Ryan said.
However, Magistrate Douglass said the case was alarming.
“I accept there was something acting on his mind at the time but that's no reason or justification for this behaviour,” he said.
The man must serve seven months on parole when he is released from custody next February.
