An award-winning Canberra builder who once counted Governor General David Hurley among his clients has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of domestic violence.
Brendan Lionel Howe, 35, came to public attention two years ago when Hurley appeared in a testimonial video for his company, Homes by Howe.
Hurley quickly apologized for the “mistake”, saying the testimony was made “on the spur of a happy moment” after Homes by Howe made renovations to his private residence in Canberra.
But far from the smiling photo with the governor general and his wife Linda, who are not accused of any crime, Howe had subjected his wife to horrible abuse behind closed doors between 2018 and 2022.
Howe, whose company website boasts of being “an award-winning custom home builder trusted by Canberra families”, pleaded guilty to family violence charges in the ACT Supreme Court this week, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Brendan Lionel Howe (pictured left) came to public attention two years ago when Governor General David Hurley (pictured centre) appeared in a testimonial video for his company. Mr. Hurley’s wife Linda is pictured at right.
On Wednesday, the victim told the court that she lived in fear of Howe for years and that he once referred to her unborn child as “that little shit inside you.”
Howe’s now ex-wife said he cried for half an hour in police station parking lot before going in to report him, which, according to her, was like “lighting a match and setting fire to your own life.”
“You watch it burn before your very eyes and the whole time you are absolutely terrified of what is to come,” she said in her victim impact statement.
The four charges Howe pleaded guilty to are aggravated common assault, property damage and two counts of common assault.
The first assault occurred when the victim took one of Howe’s dogs away from him to stop him from squeezing her pimples.
Howe then pushed her against a cabinet and said, “I pay for those dogs, so I’ll do whatever I want.”
In the second assault, in October 2021, Howe shouted at his wife: ‘I’m going to kill you.’
The following month, he committed property damage by hitting and denting a kitchen door.
In September 2022, when his wife was 34 weeks pregnant, Howe, who was intoxicated, pushed her against their bedroom door and screamed in her face.
‘If you and that little idiot inside you can’t see that I’m the boss and when I want to talk about something, I’m going to talk about it.
‘And she’ll know it and you’ll know it,’ roared Howe, holding his wife by the shoulders, according to agreed-upon facts in the case.
‘I rule the chicken coop of this house. You should worship the damn ground I walk on. You’re a fucking bitch. You are a mutt. I’m the boss,’ he said.
The victim reported Howe to police in November 2022, who was arrested and spent one night in custody.
On Wednesday the victim told the ACT Supreme Court (pictured) she lived in fear of Howe for years.
Howe’s wife said he “could go from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye” and said that during the final round, he asked himself “what if this was the end?”
After the September 2022 attack, she said there wasn’t a day she didn’t break down on the shower floor crying and that she was “completely devastated and beyond stressed.”
Prosecutor David Swan has called for Howe to be jailed for his crimes, saying he had shown a “lack of empathy for the victims” in a letter to the court.
Howe will be sentenced by Judge Louise Taylor on Thursday morning.