A scorned husband who found his wife and brother having sex in the back of a car, while his mother sat in the driver’s seat, has been jailed after going on a rampage with a shovel while shouting that he was going to “kill them” all”. .
David McCulloch, 41, was sentenced at the Supreme Court in Burnie, northern Tasmania, on Friday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of assault charges, along with possession of cannabis and a firearm. homemade.
According to court documents, the situation began on March 28 when McCulloch tried several times to call his wife, Jacinta King, but she did not answer her phone.
The couple, who met when they were teenagers and have been together for 25 years, have four adult children together and matching tattoos. They married six years ago and share a house with their mother, Sue McCulloch.
On the night of the incident, Mrs McCulloch had taken Mrs King to the home of her eldest son, Jamie McCulloch. Once he was picked up, he drove up a block of units and stopped in a nearby parking lot.
When McCulloch was unable to locate his wife, he became suspicious and drove to the car park where he found Mrs King having sex with her brother, Jamie, in the back of the vehicle.
Incredibly, her mother sat up front, seemingly unfazed by what was happening behind her.
David McCulloch and Jacinta King are pictured on their wedding day in 2018
Jamie McCulloch (pictured) had sex with his sister-in-law in the back of a car, while his mother sat in the front.
McCulloch opened the back door of the car and began punching his brother in the chest and body, before pushing his wife against the car window and punching her several times in the head.
When Jamie jumped out of the car and attempted to flee the scene, McCulloch grabbed a shovel from his car and began hitting his brother while shouting death threats.
Her mother tried to intervene and was pushed back into a dumpster.
When Jamie successfully escaped, McCulloch, furious, slammed the shovel so hard into the car that it broke into two pieces. He then used the broken handle to hit his wife on the head, before punching her in the eye.
Neighbors called the police and McCulloch was arrested and taken to Devonport police station. Jamie and Mrs King were taken to Mersey Community Hospital with minor bruises and lacerations.
When interviewed by police, McCulloch expressed extreme frustration over the incident and stated that his brother “deserved it.”
He also informed authorities about a homemade firearm and ammunition he had in his home.
Sue McCulloch (pictured) took Mrs King, her daughter-in-law and her eldest son to a car park so they could have sex.
King and David McCulloch (pictured) have been together for 25 years and married for six
When police raided the property, they found the unsecured gun in the laundry room and about 240 grams of cannabis in ziplock bags. He later confessed to having sold and supplied the drugs.
During Friday’s sentencing, Judge Tamara Jago accepted that the circumstances surrounding the violence were “confronting”.
She said: ‘The betrayal of his wife and brother, and the apparent acquiescence of his mother, must have been disturbing, and while one can appreciate that that would result in a level of distress and frustration, it in no way excuses what then he did.
‘However, it places his behavior in a specific context.
“This was not premeditated or planned behavior, but rather a spontaneous reaction upon discovering a difficult situation involving a breach of trust.”
The judge said McCulloch intended to cause grievous bodily harm to his brother but, given the minor nature of his injuries, it was unlikely that most of the blows with the shovel would actually connect with Jamie’s body.
He continued: ‘The actual damage caused was moderate.
David McCulloch (pictured) and his wife have matching rose tattoos on their hands. He also has “all or nothing” written on his chest.
Jacinta King has “I have no regrets” tattooed on her arm. She and her husband hold matching roses in their hands.
‘There is no doubt that what he did was exceptionally serious and that his use of the shovel had the potential to cause serious harm, but the context in which the violence was committed was, in all the circumstances, morally provocative.
“You reacted in the most inappropriate way, but I accept that it was an emotional response to the circumstances you had discovered.”
She was satisfied McCulloch was not at risk of reoffending and took his early guilty pleas into consideration, but said the sentence had to reflect the seriousness of the offenses and serve as a general deterrent.
McCulloch was sentenced to three years in prison, backdated to May 7 when he was taken into custody.
The last 18 months of his sentence will be suspended on the condition that he does not commit a crime for two years.
He was also fined $1,000 and will be eligible for parole in February.