A 55-year-old father of five with mental health issues who threatened to stab himself in the neck and set his family's house on fire has received a good behaviour bond for six months.
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He ultimately pleaded guilty to breaching a family violence order and making a threat to damage property.
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The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard the man had been separated from his former partner and mother of his children for three years following a decade-long relationship when he made the threat.
The court heard the man's former partner allowed him to stay in another building on the same property, after he experienced a period of homelessness.
Man pleads guilty to fire and self-harm threats
Then on September 9, 2023, she asked him to leave the main home and go back to the other building after an afternoon of drinking.
The man turned abusive, refusing to go back, and threatened to stab himself in the neck if the woman called police.
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The court was told he threatened to get a can of gasoline and set the house alight, after which the woman called 000 and disclosed those threats.
The man was arrested and denied he made the threats, calling them "a load of crap" and said, "I wouldn't hurt my kids".
Magistrate Russell Kelly told the man "alcohol was not a good drug" for him.
Dad self-admitted into hospital after arrest
The 55-year-old was remorseful and two days after he made the threats, he self-admitted into a psychiatric ward.
He is currently fully excluded from the home where the incident occurred and is living with one of his adult children.
The man, who was last before the courts in 2017 and had not faced similar charges since 2013, has been placed on a mental health care plan.
If the man completes the good behaviour bond with no breaches, the charges will be marked as dismissed.
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
