A woman suffered a cut to her forehead so deep it went to the bone and required surgery after she was beaten with a dining chair by a man she was staying with in Berkeley.
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The man, 48-year-old Jason Lee Wellins, has pleaded guilty to charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, choking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and contravening an apprehended violence order.
About 9pm on April 5 this year, Wellins and the woman, then 43, got into an argument at his Winnima Way home after she woke him up.
Wellins picked up a heavy dining chair and swung it down on the woman, striking her back and arm and causing immediate pain, redness and swelling.
The victim went to the front of the house but Wellins used a chair to pin her into a corner, before using his hands to choke her to the point she found it difficult to breathe and grew terrified.
He released her when she picked up a baseball bat, then took the bat off her while she ran outside.
Wellins gave chase, still wielding the bat.
Police were called and arrived about 9.20pm to find the victim crying on the porch of a neighbouring home.
When officers spoke to Wellins, he said: "She screamed at me in my own place" and "I skitzed out because I haven't had food".
He was arrested, charged, served with a provisional apprehended domestic violence order and released on bail.
Around 2am on April 6 he was driven home, where officers knocked on the door to check the victim - who had earlier said she planned to stay with someone else - had left.
However, she was in a laundry at the back of the property and hadn't heard them knocking.
An angry Wellins went into the laundry and blamed the victim for his arrest, saying: "I should have broken your jaw in two places for all the screaming".
The victim tried to calm him and apologise, to which he responded: "All you Aussie sluts. You are all the same".
At some point Wellins stood over the victim and stabbed a pair of scissors into a door.
The victim picked them up when he dropped them, at which point Wellins again picked up a dining chair and brought it down on her head, splitting open her forehead.
The victim fled the home and began screaming for help outside Berkeley pool.
Within three minutes, three nearby residents called triple-zero, one asking police to hurry because he was so concerned for the woman.
Paramedics treated the victim and took her to Wollongong Hospital, where the seven-centimetre laceration above her left eye - which went down to the bone and had severed a nerve, artery and vein - was stitched up.
The following day she underwent surgery to clean the wound and repair the lacerated muscle. As of May, she was still experiencing paralysis on the upper left side of her face.
She also sustained a broken nose.
Police looked for Wellins but he had left the scene. He was eventually arrested on April 10 in Middlesex Way, Berkeley.
He appeared at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday. Lawyer Laura Fennell said she was seeking a Justice Health report regarding Wellins' mental health issues.
Wellins will be sentenced at Wollongong District Court next year.
The sentencing judge will also take into account two offences of intimidation when determining Wellins' punishment.
Support is available for those who have experienced family, domestic or sexual violence. Call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for 24-hour support. If someone is in danger, call 000.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
