EXCLUSIVE
A disgraced building manager who threatened to kill his pregnant wife and gave their unborn daughter a hideous name admits he is “disgusted” by his behaviour as he tries to start a new business.
Brendan Lionel Howe, 37, pleaded guilty in June to one count of aggravated assault, two counts of simple assault and one count of destruction of property during a four-year campaign of abuse against his ex-wife.
The ACT Supreme Court heard he held her against a wall when she was 34 weeks pregnant and, in front of their toddler, screamed: “I’m the boss of this house. You should worship the f***ing ground I walk on. You’re a f***ing bitch. You’re a bastard.”
‘If you and that little cunt inside you can’t see that I’m the boss and if I want to talk about something, then I’m going to talk about it. [it] and she will know that and you will know that.’
He left court with a fully suspended seven-month prison sentence, a one-year suspended sentence for good behavior, a $1,800 fine and 50 hours of community service, before immediately boarding a plane to Bali for a five-day stay.
Daily Mail Australia reports that Howe was only able to launch his successful construction company Homes By Howe because he received 50 percent of the funding from his then father-in-law.
It can also be revealed that Howe has now registered a new business name, Prvn Projects Pty Ltd. The Homes By Howe office has been subdivided, with two-thirds of the original floor space now available to rent.
His former office at Homes By Howe has been cleared (pictured) and leased to another company
Brendan Howe (pictured) threatened to kill his ex-wife and called their unborn daughter a ‘c**t’
Brendan Howe (pictured) has quietly started a new company called Prvn Projects Pty Ltd
A close friend of Howe told Daily Mail Australia that the father of two regrets his violent behaviour and has undergone a number of psychological sessions to help him see his daughters again.
“He wants to maintain a relationship with his children, he is disgusted by his own reaction, he is devastated and we have worked hard to help him move on,” she said.
Howe teamed up with his then-wife’s father to start a business, establishing Homes By Howe in 2017 after his former company Twenty20 Projects went bankrupt.
By 2019, the company was so successful that Howe bought out his father-in-law, gaining full control of the company.
Howe’s friend said his new company, Prvn Projects Pty Ltd, is separate from Homes By Howe.
She also said that Homes By Howe is still receiving bookings.
During the ruling in June, Judge Louise Taylor said the business generated “significant income” but he had been in debt for legal fees and maintenance since the end of his relationship.
His ex-wife cried and shook uncontrollably as she gave her victim impact statement. She told the court: ‘I was always the woman who said, “I never want to be with a man who abuses me”.
‘When you pressed me against our bedroom door when I was 34 weeks pregnant, for [our daughter] – time stood still. I couldn’t believe it was happening, and that the man I loved, the father of my children, could actually kill me.
Brendan Howe (pictured) received funding from his father-in-law to start his construction company
Brendan Howe is pictured outside Homes By Howe before the office closed earlier this month
“I tolerated this behavior for so many years because I loved you so much and longed for our family unit. I never wanted this. I was also afraid of what you would do if I left. I was afraid you would follow through with your threats.”
She said Howe constantly blamed her for his abuse, saying she deserved it because he earned the money and throwing tantrums, and he told the court he never apologized to her.
A few days later, he decided to cancel the supervised visits with his toddler in favor of a trip to Bali.
Homes By Howe appeared to continue operating normally in his absence, but public records show he registered his new company Prvn Projects Pty Ltd on July 3.
On Tuesday, his old office was empty, with a new “rented” sticker on the windshield.
Judge Taylor called Howe’s comments about his unborn child “truly appalling”, acknowledged his wife’s trauma and ruled that Howe showed no genuine remorse.
“He’s sad about himself,” she said.
‘The perpetration of violence, usually by men against their female partners, is a common phenomenon in this jurisdiction and across the country.’
She said such crimes have “life-changing consequences” and that it is rare that a sentence imposed by a court of law helps victims move on and get their lives back on track.
However, she found that he was motivated to change and had good prospects for rehabilitation.