'String her up and kill her': man to be sentenced over litany of DV crimes

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty to offences including assault, threats to kill and intentionally causing injury after repeated attacks against his ex-partner.

The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard that the most recent assault took place on November 23, 2022 when the man was at home with his partner.

At around 1am he walked into her bedroom and woke her up before accusing her of lying to him and cheating on him.

As the argument continued the man threatened to "string her up in a tree and kill her" before he slapped her in the face.

The next day the woman took their children to school but did not return home.

The school contacted child protection services who were there at the end of the school day to meet the now ex-partner.

The court heard that a previous assault by the man against her included pulling her hair and chocking her into unconsciousness in front of their four-year-old child.

The man's defence lawyer, Christopher Wareham, said the offender was "ashamed" of his actions and the pleas of guilty showed he had insight into wrongdoing.

Mr Wareham argued that given the man had already completed 342 days of presentence detention, a community corrections order with stipulations around anger management, mental health and drug and alcohol counselling would be more beneficial for rehab than a jail term.

The defence lawyer said that if the man were to receive treatment for those issues, it would put him in better stead to return to the community following his sentence.

Prosecutor Chris Glerum said an early plea of guilty was not necessarily a sign of genuine remorse and instead there "must be a desire to atone".

Mr Glerum also noted that the act of choking someone, especially a partner, into unconsciousness was at the top end of family violence offending.

The man will be sentenced on May 2.