Attempting to kill his little daughter “out of bitterness” and “vindictiveness” against his wife, an Adelaide father was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Days before his Supreme Court trial in June, Shaun Preston Mate, 45, entered a guilty plea to the attempted murder of his daughter, who was three at the time.
After trying to gas both him and his daughter, the father tried to recover consciousness and questioned police, “So she didn’t die, then?” This clearly demonstrated his wish to harm his wife.
Two days before to the crime, in July 2020, Mate bought a pair of nitrogen gas tanks.
He then let the gas out after arguing with his then-wife over dinner.
At their Adelaide home, police discovered the 45-year-old and his daughter unconscious and hypoxic.
The infant required weeks to recuperate from the gas attack and spent five days in critical care at the hospital.
According to Auxiliary Justice Geraldine Davison, who sentenced Mate on Friday, Mate had emotional problems and was terrified that his wife would leave him, but it in no way excuses him from the deed he committed.
According to Adelaide Now, she said, “I see this offence as being at the top end of the spectrum of severity.”
“Your planning suggested it was intentional, the victim was a fragile youngster, and it was the most major breach of the trust given in parent,” the prosecutor said.
Mate received a 14-year prison term for trying to kill someone.
In July 2029, he will be qualified to apply for parole.
Mate’s marriage was allegedly “coming apart” before to the attempted murder, and he had started being verbally and physically aggressive.
The ABC said that prosecutors said the “premeditated” assault was an act of “spite” towards his now-ex-wife in a statement to the court in June.
Kos Lesses, the prosecutor, remarked to Mate’s callous comment about wondering whether his daughter died and said that the youngster was fortunate to live.
According to Mr. Lesses, “That reply has importance in disproving [a prior] assertion that he did not remember the episode leading to the offence.”
“This was planned, deliberate, motivated by resentment and a hint of revenge.”
In June, Mate’s defence attorney Marie Shaw said that Mate “truly regretted” his deeds and hoped that one day he might win back the confidence of his daughter, whose “he adored.”