WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A 10-year-old boy who woke up next to a grave dug by his father was told he had to choose whether to be buried with him or his mother, a court has heard.
A 58-year-old man appeared in court in New Plymouth, New Zealand, last week after abusing his ex-partner and their son for more than a decade.
The man, from Taranaki in the west of the North Island, cannot legally be named to protect the identity of his now 14-year-old son.
He pleaded guilty to four charges against his former partner, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault with a weapon, wounding with intent to wound and the representative charge of threatening to kill.
The boy pleaded guilty to intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and causing injury with intent to injure.
The court heard testimony from the woman, who said she had been abused for 14 years, suffering from broken bones, bruises and black eyes.
Judge Robert Spear read out loud to the court the “chilling” details of the domestic abuse against the woman and the boy.
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 in which the boy, feeling unwell, went to bed but woke the next morning to find himself 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. There was dirt on him,” said Judge Spear, the NZ Herald reported.
‘You [the man] stood over him with a cricket bat. You told him the grave was for him or his mother, and that the 10-year-old boy could choose who would end up in it.’
When the boy did not respond, his father kicked him, punched him in the face and hit him with a cricket bat.
The court also heard that the man threatened to kill his partner several times, including by cutting her into pieces and burying her.
One case of domestic violence occurred at a home in Hāwera, South Taranaki, after the man asked the woman to look after their son while he went to work.
However, when she arrived, the man punched and kicked her and then dragged her across 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, again preventing her from breathing.
Judge Spears said the court deals with domestic violence almost every day, but he claimed this was some of the worst he had ever seen.
Before the man was sentenced, a comprehensive report was provided to the court.
The report stated that the man had shown no remorse and had not taken responsibility for his actions, and criticised the summary of the facts.
Judge Robert Spear told the New Plymouth District Court in New Zealand (pictured) that the case was among the worst cases of domestic violence he had ever seen.
The man had told the reporter that he had “never harmed a hair on my son” and claimed he had only pleaded guilty to spare his son the pressure of appearing in court.
The report found that the man admitted to being “completely out of control” and addicted to methamphetamine, often going days without sleeping during the years of abuse.
Judge Spears told the man he denied the facts and rejected the man’s claims that he had not hurt his son.
However, he did find that the man showed remorse after spending time sober and in prison.
Another report shows that the man grew up drinking heavily, beginning to abuse alcohol and cannabis at age 13. He also began using methamphetamines in his 20s.
Judge Spears started with a 17-year prison sentence and added an additional year for prior domestic violence convictions.
He then gave the man credit for his admissions of guilt, remorse, background factors and time served.
The man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison, of which a minimum of six years.