Adam Mark Betts: No jail for ‘sickening’ DV which left wife in pool of blood with sight-threatening injury

A woman was left lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood with a sight-threatening injury after a “sickening” assault by her partner of 11 years. The harrowing act of domestic violence by Adam Mark Betts was recounted in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault causing bodily harm and a damage charge. Despite a lengthy submission by the prosecution about how the community looked to the courts to “condemn” instances of DV and a call for “the most serious punishment” to send a message this type of offending would not be tolerated, Betts walked out with a suspended sentence, community-based order and 80 hours of community work. The court was told Betts’ then-wife and partner of 11 years was drinking at a local pub with him after a social gathering in November 2023 when he decided to go home with two of his friends, believing she would follow soon. She decided to stay and continue drinking with her friends, while Betts kept drinking and smoking cannabis with his friends at home. Betts became angry when he realised she was not coming home and called and texted her persistently. He also called her friend, demanding to know where she was. One of Betts’ friends then went to the pub and told the victim he was angry with her and took her back home. Betts confronted her in the carport, shaking her by the shoulders, calling her a s… and asking where she had been. He then threw her to the ground and was pushed away by his friends, who told him to calm down and back off. After those friends left a short time later, Betts followed the victim into the house, where he continued to berate her before lunging at her and punching her in the face. She fell to the ground and hit her head, knocking her unconscious. She woke up an unknown amount of time later, alone and lying in a pool of her own blood. She showered to wash the blood off before calling a friend to tell her about the severe pain in her eye and asked if she could get a lift to the hospital. This was when she heard Betts’ car pull up to the house before he stormed inside and continued yelling before smashing her phone. The victim’s friend arrived at 8am and took her to hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure in her eye from fluid build-up from the punch. She was then flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Royal Perth Hospital, where she was treated for a potentially blinding condition called retrobulbar haemorrhage. Betts was arrested a few hours later and told police in an interview he had an “issue with rage” when he drank and that he was jealous that night and pushed and yelled at the victim, but couldn’t remember anything else. Four months after the assault, Betts texted the victim stating “Not a wife beater. Maybe if my wife wasn’t a s… it wouldn’t of (sic) happened”. Magistrate William Yoo said it was “not remorseful” to victim blame. He also said he had the “unpleasant exercise” of looking at the photos of the “sickening” injury to the victim’s eye. She also had a cut to her scalp and eyebrow. “Any man who thinks this is in any way acceptable will be at risk of imprisonment,” he said. “(This offending) well and truly shattered this person’s sense of security.” Betts originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of grievous bodily harm which was set for a trial in District Court, but it was downgraded to an assault charge to which he then pleaded guilty. Defence lawyer Jessikah Niesten called for the court to impose a “significant fine” for the offending, which she said was at the lower end of the scale. She said it was a case of “spontaneous violence” and Betts had not drunk alcohol since. Coupled with the fact Betts had no violent offending on his criminal record and wrote a letter expressing his remorse for his actions, Ms Nietsen said he could be rehabilitated in the community. Betts has been employed as a drill fitter with SRG Global at the Super Pit for the past five years and had three character references submitted in support of him, including one from his female project co-ordinator and his new wife. Prosecuting Const. Jacob Nixon said the incident violated the victim’s right to feel safe in her home and said a serious message needed to be sent through Betts’ sentencing to prevent instances of DV. “The focus here should not be on Mr Betts, it should be ensuring that harrowing acts such as this are deterred to the point where vulnerable partners can live in just a little bit less fear than they did before,” he said. “Women . . . need to know the law will protect them. “The community expects us to condemn . . . instances such as this.” He questioned whether Betts’ remorse was genuine or just came at a time where he “has something to gain” from it. In his sentencing remarks, Mr Yoo accepted the assault was not premeditated or persistent and labelled it a “brain snap in the worst possible way”. He said courts had “firmed up” sentences for DV-related offending and sentences needed to send a message to others that these actions would not be tolerated. However, he said courts rarely dealt with people who were “one-dimensional” and people’s actions which landed them in court often showed the “worst of their humanity”, but others often saw another side of them. He said Betts had the tools for change and rehabilitation and sentenced him to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for 20 months. He said this was “not a get out of jail free card” and said some justice still needed to be given to the victim, handing him 80 hours of community work and a six-month community-based order with program and supervision for the criminal damage charge. Betts cried as the sentence was read and his supporters in the court embraced each other in a tearful group hug. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)