A Tasmanian man who snapped a golf club over his sister’s partner before stabbing him with the broken shaft and a knife has been jailed for 15 months.
Cody James Hingston, 29, will spend six months behind bars after admitting to wounding the man in front of a seven-year-old child.
The Supreme Court heard that on January 28, 2023, Hingston drove to the property where the victim lived with Hingston’s twin sister and their three young sons.
Armed with a metal golf club, Hingston smashed the car’s centre pillar before attacking the victim, striking him “so hard that the golf club broke” as he stepped out of the vehicle, Justice Robert Pearce said.
“Despite his attempts to avoid you and shield himself, you stabbed him in the left forearm,” the judge told Hingston, who then pulled out a folding knife and threatened to kill the victim.
Hingston tried to stab him in the chest and inflicted a 10-centimetre wound to his back while repeating death threats. He fled the scene with the man’s car keys.
The victim was taken to hospital with deep wounds to his forearm and back, the latter requiring stitches.
One of the victim’s children later told police his “daddy was stabbed by his uncle”, the judge said.
Hingston initially denied being there and claimed the victim was “delusional”. But DNA from blood on the broken golf club and inside Hingston’s car proved otherwise.
The court heard Hingston believed he was protecting his sister from the man’s behaviour.
“Regardless of the reason for it, it did not justify such violence,” Justice Pearce said, noting Hingston was “very fortunate” not to face more serious charges.
Nine months of his sentence were suspended for two years, on the condition he stays out of trouble and complies with supervision after his release.
