She tried defending herself by hitting him multiple times with a portable speaker, but it didn’t stop him, a court heard on Wednesday.
The Crown sought to have Joseph Wells sent to prison for up to three-and-a-half years for a violent assault against a woman. He was sentenced in the Nelson District Court to four months’ home detention. Photo / Tracy Neal
The woman said in her victim impact statement, read on her behalf at the hearing, that she may never get over knowing the hands around her throat, choking her, were the hands of the man she once thought loved her.
She said she learned to “normalise” violence experienced over the years, and had endured beatings worse than that handed out by Joseph Wells on a day in May 2024 when she finally called for help.
“For a long time, I blamed myself for causing violence,” she said.
‘Severe’ cannabis and methamphetamine use disorder
Wells was sentenced in the Nelson District Court to four months’ home detention after a potential three-year prison term was whittled down for a list of reasons, including the time he had already spent in custody and on electronic bail, awaiting sentence.
The 29-year-old, who was said to be in remission from a severe cannabis and methamphetamine use disorder, was also considered to show good prospects for rehabilitation, Judge David Laurenson said.
He had also eventually admitted charges during the preliminary stages of trial preparation of strangulation, intimidation, wilful damage and assault on a person in a family relationship.
The guilty pleas saved the victim from having to endure a trial, for which Wells was awarded a sentencing credit.
The Crown sought a term of imprisonment ranging from three to three-and-a-half years, noting Wells had been granted privileges while on bail, including time out for such things as grocery shopping.
A variation to his bail terms was also granted which allowed him to retrieve the ashes of his young child from a different relationship, who had recently died.
Wells stood in the dock holding a photo of a child, while supporters gathered in the public gallery of the courtroom.
Family violence ‘scourge’ of NZ society
Crown prosecutor Jerome Lao said in reinforcing the Crown submissions that the Court of Appeal had once referred to family violence as the “scourge of New Zealand society”.
He said what happened was yet another example of a victim being subject to a “violent attack by a partner”.
The summary of facts said the victim lived with her child in the Nelson home she rented.
The violence, which began in the early hours of Monday, September 9, 2024, was preceded by Wells having been drinking at times through the night, police said.
When he climbed into bed and the woman told him to leave her alone, he got angry and aggressive, swore at her and threatened to “smash” her.
Wells began pacing around the house aggressively, saying he “wanted to smash something” before he walked up to a large mirror and smashed it with his elbow, then blamed the woman for making him do it.
He then smashed another large mirror he knew was a sentimental item, by kicking it.
The woman grabbed a portable speaker and hit Wells several times in the head and body and told him to leave.
‘Feared for her life’
A scuffle resulted in Wells pushing the woman down, and he then put his hands over the victim’s face, mouth, and nose, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Wells then placed both hands around her throat and squeezed until she went quiet.
“He was squeezing and pushing his weight down on me,” she said, according to the summary of facts.
“He stopped when I went quiet. I couldn’t even swallow after he let me go; I couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air.”
Wells then picked up the shard of glass and threatened to kill both of them.
She feared for her life, the summary said.
Wells then picked up a boxing glove and pad and hit the victim with it, as he packed items before leaving.
Another argument erupted as she went outside to shut the gate after him, so he could not drive back in, the summary said.
Wells grabbed her and shoved her hard enough against the house that her head hit the wall.
He pushed his hands over her face again and forced his fingers into her mouth, screaming at her to “shut the f**k up” while grabbing and pulling her hair.
The woman had yelled, hoping someone would help her and call police.
Wells then bit her hand, threw her on the ground and fled in his car as the woman called the police.
She suffered puncture marks to her left hand from the bite, bruising and tenderness to her face and neck.
Judge Laurenson said the offending within the victim’s home contained an element of home invasion.
“You were allowed there but it was her home, and the offending was accompanied by threats to kill.”
Judge Laurenson was satisfied that a sentence of home detention at an address in Westport would hold Wells to account for what happened, while serving to denounce and deter.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.