Accused of choking wife

A BUTCHER allegedly hit his wife in the chest and choked her after she accused him of infidelity, a court has heard.

Geoffrey Wayne Atkinson appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and choking suffocation strangulation associated with domestic violence.

He successfully applied for bail on the charges.

Police allege the couple were lying in the bed of their Bundall home between May 15-16 last year when the wife accused him of infidelity.

The prosecutor alleged Atkinson became “enraged” and quickly rolled towards the wife, hitting her in the chest with an open palm.

The court heard Atkinson allegedly got on top of the woman and placed his hands around her throat and squeezed.

“The victim described the defendant as mad with a red face and was foaming at the mouth,” the prosecutor alleged in court.

The court heard the woman began struggling to breathe and started to panic.

Atkinson allegedly stopped after seeing that she was struggling to breathe and rolled over and went to sleep.

“The victim states she started gasping for air and started coughing,” the prosecutor alleged.

The woman took photos of her alleged injuries.

She reported the matter to police but did not sign a formal statement until December, the court was told.

Atkinson wasn’t charged until April 2.

The court was told the pair married in late 2019 but the relationship became volatile by 2021.

Barrister Sarah Thompson said Atkinson would contest the charges.

She said her client had strong ties to the community and besides having to show cause as to why bail should be granted, there were no other issues that had been raised in police material.

Ms Thompson said the alleged victim filed for a personal injury claim in December 2021, claiming she had suffered PTSD from the alleged violence in the marriage.

She said it had some relevance to the timing of when that formal statement was obtained by police.

Ms Thompson rejected that Atkinson made any admissions to police during an interaction after the incident and instead said he just “didn’t challenge what the complainant said”.

“… It clearly is objectively serious but the matter is to be contested, and in my submission, it’s relevant that police didn’t take any action at the time in May of last year,” she said.

He was granted bail with a residential condition and must not contact the alleged victim.

The matter was adjourned to April 22.