A woman feared for her life and thought of other victims of family violence who had been murdered in Ballarat when her ex-partner held a knife to her throat, a court has heard.
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Matthew Coolen, 41, broke into his ex-partner's home in a rage when she refused to let him in to collect some of his property and 'ask her something' at 11pm on March 16, 2020.
A neighbour heard Coolen repeatedly scream 'let me in b*tch' while the victim yelled 'please go away', a court heard.
The neighbour saw Coolen make two flying kicks to the front door, before putting on his bicycle helmet and yelling 'game on b*tch'.
Coolen forced the side roller door open, entered the garage and kicked open the laundry door, damaging the lock.
Crown prosecutor Shivani Pillai said Coolen had a black hunting knife in a sheath attached by a cable tie to the lower part of his right leg.
Coolen ran into the loungeroom and attempted to grab the phone from the victim who was calling triple zero.
At that stage the victim feared for her life, recalling another woman who had lived nearby had been killed.
- Crown prosecutor Shivani Pillai
He chased the victim into her bedroom, tried to cover her mouth with his hand and threw her on the bed face down, pinning her head down and placing his knee into the side of her head.
Coolen pulled the hunting knife out of the sheath and pierced her jeans during a struggle, causing a small cut to her leg.
Ms Pillai said he pulled the knife up to the front of the victim's throat and said 'shut the f*ck up' and 'don't call the police'.
"At that stage the victim feared for her life, recalling another woman who had lived nearby had been killed," she said.
Coolen backed off enough for the victim to push him away and he yelled 'where is my money?', before calming down and leaving the area on his bicycle.
He was arrested and told police he attended the house believing the victim had taken money from a bank account and he did not threaten her or have a knife.
Coolen pleaded guilty to the offences at the County Court of Victoria on Tuesday.
Defence barrister Julian Siggins said Coolen had regular access to the victim's house as he still had some of his items there.
He said Coolen had a polysubstance abuse disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and experienced paranoia.
"His state of extreme agitation resulted in aggressive actions," Mr Siggins said.
Judge Carolene Gwynn said she did not know how to disentangle the post traumatic stress and polysubstance use disorder when this read like 'ice-fuelled offending'.
She said the violent episode occurred in 'disturbing circumstances' of domestic violence.
"It is an extremely serious incident," Judge Gwynn said.
Mr Siggins said Coolen had an inability to cope with personal problems, his decision making process was poor and his ability to rationalise was 'almost entirely absent'.
He said Coolen's moral culpability was reduced due to his mental state at the time, meaning less emphasis should be placed on specific deterrence.
The case was adjourned for a further plea hearing in March when a psychiatrist will be cross-examined about Coolen's mental state.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
