WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A 10-year-old boy who woke up next to a grave dug by his father was told to choose whether he or his mother should be buried, a court has heard.
A 58-year-old man appeared in the New Plymouth District Court, New Zealand, last week after subjecting his ex-partner and her son to more than a decade of abuse.
The man, from Taranaki on the western side of the North Island, cannot be legally identified to protect the identity of his son, now 14.
He pleaded guilty to four charges relating to his ex-partner, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault with a weapon, wounding with intent to injure and a representative charge of threatening to kill.
In relation to the boy, he pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm and wounding with intent to injure.
The court heard testimony from the woman, who detailed 14 years of abuse, including broken bones, bruises and black eyes.
Judge Robert Spear read out to the court the “chilling” details of the domestic violence suffered by the woman and child.
A 58-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of domestic violence-related offences.
Judge Spear recounted an incident in 2019 when the boy, feeling unwell, went to bed but woke up the next morning lying on the grass next to a “freshly dug hole in the ground”.
“The hole was about six feet long and about six feet deep. It had dirt spread over it,” Judge Spear said. New Zealand Herald reported.
‘You (the man) were standing over him with a cricket bat. You told him that the grave was either his or his mother’s, and that this 10-year-old boy had to choose who would end up there.’
When the boy did not respond, his father kicked him in the body, punched him in the face and hit him with a cricket bat.
The court also heard that the man threatened to kill his partner on several occasions, including cutting her into pieces and burying her.
A domestic violence attack occurred at a property in Hāwera, South Taranaki, after the man asked the woman to look after his child while he went to work.
However, when she arrived, the man punched and kicked her before dragging her along the ground.
He forced his ex-partner to take off her shirt and then strangled her by putting his hands around her neck.
The man then grabbed a chain and wrapped it around her neck, cutting off her breathing once again.
Judge Spears said the court deals with domestic violence cases almost every day, but he said this was one of the worst he had seen.
A lengthy pre-sentence report had been provided to the court prior to sentencing the man.
The report said the man had not expressed remorse or shown responsibility for his actions and also questioned aspects of the summary of events.
Judge Robert Spear told the New Plymouth District Court, New Zealand (pictured) that the case was one of the worst cases involving domestic violence he had seen.
The man had told the report’s author that he had “never touched a hair on my son’s head” and claimed he only pleaded guilty to spare his son the pressure of appearing in court.
The report added that the man admitted he was “totally out of control” and was addicted to methamphetamine, often going days without sleep during the years of abuse.
Judge Spears told the man he was in denial and rejected his claims that he did not hurt his son.
However, she found the man to be remorseful after spending time sober and in prison.
Another report added that the man grew up surrounded by heavy alcohol consumption and that his own alcohol and cannabis abuse began when he was 13, then progressed to methamphetamines when he was 20.
Judge Spears started with 17 years in prison and then added an additional year for the man’s previous convictions related to domestic violence.
He then credited the man’s guilty pleas, his remorse, his record and the time served.
The man was sentenced to 12 years and seven months, with a minimum term of six years behind bars.