STATE OF TASMANIA v JANE MAREE BLUNDSTONE 29 AUGUST 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE GEASON J
On 22 October 2020, the complainant and her husband were at the Lilydale Tavern at about 5.55pm. They were outside the front of the hotel smoking when the complaint saw you drive into the car park and park on the northern side of the hotel outside the bottle shop. You had a front seat passenger with you. Upon seeing you the complainant walked towards you, yelling at you. You and your passenger alighted from the vehicle and whilst you were out of the vehicle the complainant approached you and started punching you. You then began punching one another. At this point you reached into your car and put on a pair of knuckle dusters. You then hit the complainant once to the chest and twice to the head with the knuckle duster. They were wrapped over each finger on your right hand and had spikes protruding from the outer most parts. Your passenger tried to separate the two of you, then the complainant’s partner intervened and attempted to separate you.
Once you were separated, the complainant’s partner yelled at you and you got back into your car and you drove away. The complainant called her mother who took her to the Launceston General Hospital. She was treated at the hospital, and under local anesthetic received one stitch to her forehead, three stitches to the left side of her head and five stitches to her right breast.
On 20 November 2020, you attended the Launceston Police Station where you participated in a recorded interview. During that interview you made a number of admissions. You admitted assaulting the complainant whilst wearing knuckle dusters, that you had punched the complainant three or four times and you acknowledged doing the wrong thing. You said that you could have avoided the incident. At the conclusion of the interview you were charged, processed and bailed.
You have a history of prior convictions for assault but they are of some age. I will return to those in a moment. I accept the State’s submission that in sentencing you specific deterrence is an important consideration because of that demonstrated history of engaging in unlawful assaults.
You are now 43 years of age and you are employed on a casual basis. You plea of guilty is entered on the basis that the complainant approached you first, and in response and by way of self-defence you used excessive force.
Relevantly for sentencing purposes I accept that it was the complainant who approached you and caused the altercation to commence. It was only during the course of that altercation that you reached into the motor vehicle and obtained the knuckle dusters. Your counsel puts to me that you were utilizing them as a weapon to remove the complainant. She grabbed hold of your hair following the initial punches inflicted by you and it was at that point that you decided to utilise the knuckle dusters.
In relation to your prior convictions it is has been explained that they are largely explicable by reference to a history of family violence you endured within a relationship of some 20 years, 14 years of which you were married. You acknowledge nevertheless that you were responsible for some common assaults on your ex-husband. I accept that these were at the lower end of the range of common assaults. I have been told that that relationship has ended and that there has been no further offending committed by you until this episode. You have had difficulties with alcohol use and you acknowledge that this has been a form of self-medication for you during your relationship difficulties. You now apparently have better supports in your life and you have commenced a new relationship which I understand is with a caring and supportive partner who is focusing on your future. Relevantly you have ceased all alcohol consumption. You are currently employed on a casual basis. You are working as a cleaner. You have also worked in the packing house and as a store person and essentially do whatever is required of you by your employer. You present with a long employment history having previously been employed with another firm. I take account of that industrious history.
I accept your counsel’s submission that for this offending a community based order is an appropriate sentencing response. I have obtained a report which has demonstrated your suitability for such order and I am satisfied that it can adequately address the need for personal deterrence and general deterrence and punish you for your offending on this occasion. Your actions were dangerous, ill advised and a total unnecessary response to the complaint’s initial aggression. On the indictment I convict you and I sentence you to 140 hours of community service. You have 30 months within which to complete those community service orders. Further and in line with the recommendation obtained in the pre-sentence report I make a supervision order for a period of 6 months.