A NARINGAL man who brutally choked his partner after a “booze cruise” through country pubs has had his appeal against a 16-month jail sentence adjourned.
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Clement Reid Rhyne, 42, of Panmure Road, was sentenced in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court in May last year after strangling his partner while whipping her with a phone charger.
He appealed against the conviction and sentence and that appeal was to be heard in the Warrnambool County Court yesterday.
However, barrister for Mr Rhyne, Rohan Lawrence, said his client was in a highly agitated state and had recently suffered a stress-related heart attack.
Mr Lawrence said he was having difficulty getting instructions from Mr Rhyne, a witness was unable to attend court yesterday and a crisis support plan was being developed by the Warrnambool Base Hospital to support his client.
Judge Wendy Wilmoth allowed the adjournment and bailed Mr Rhyne until a filing hearing on April 17, when it is hoped another date can be set for the appeal.
The magistrates court heard last year Mr Rhyne and his then girlfriend spent the afternoon and evening of January 24 travelling between pubs in Allansford, Boggy Creek and Panmure.
About midnight the pair arrived home at a dairy farm where Mr Rhyne was living.
The victim, a mother of four, told the court she feared for her life during the attack.
“He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me down ... he choked me three times until I lost my breath,” she said.
“I thought he was going to kill me.”
The victim fled to a nearby farm property where she stole a car and drove to a relative’s house in Warrnambool, reporting the assault to police the following day.
Magistrate Ian von Einem said he did not accept Mr Rhyne’s version of events that the victim had injured herself by running through nearby bushland and broken farm machinery after he had refused to share his Valium tablets.
Mr von Einem described the attack as “a severe beating” and one at the high end of domestic violence.
Mr Rhyne maintained his innocence under cross-examination, repeatedly saying “I didn’t lay a finger on her”.
The court heard Mr Rhyne had multiple prior convictions, including two suspended sentences.
Mr Rhyne was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, including 10 months of two suspended sentences with a non-parole period of eight months.
