Former stockman jailed for 'very cruel' fatal bashing of mother-of-four

A former outback stockman has been sentenced to 11 years behind bars for negligent manslaughter after the brutal bashing of his long-term partner in a Northern Territory town centre.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of a domestic violence assault.

The NT Supreme Court heard 47-year-old Lindsay Kennedy attacked the mother of their four children, Colleen Bradshaw, in the Katherine CBD on the night of July 11, 2024.

After a night of heavy drinking, the pair were outside the town’s sports store when Kennedy king hit the 36-year-old to the face, then proceeded to stomp and kick her head as she lay on the ground moaning in agony.

CCTV footage aired during his trial showed Kennedy walked away from the victim twice, before returning to kick her in the head and chest, telling her to "get the f*** out of my life".

In sentencing, Justice Peter Barr said Kennedy’s act of “returning to assault the deceased while she was clearly in pain was very cruel”.

“Consistent with the verdict of the jury, I’m satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that your conduct involved a high risk that it could cause the death of the deceased,” he said.

“This is because you struck her to the head on four occasions; one punch, one stomp, and two separate kicks.

“All strikes were very forceful.

“The punch was delivered when the deceased’s head was in close proximity of the hard brick wall of the Intersport building, and the other strikes mentioned were delivered when the deceased’s head was resting against the hard concrete surface of the Railway Terrace footpath.

“Therefore, not only were the strikes delivered to a very vulnerable part of the body of the deceased, but because of the hard surfaces surrounding her, there was no cushioning effect, and no opportunity for the force of your strikes to dissipate.”

Offender had history of violence against victim

Remarkably, Ms Bradshaw survived the attack, but after health staff at Katherine District Hospital failed to identify her head injuries, she died in Royal Darwin Hospital on July 17.

Katherine clinicians had sent her on a Greyhound Bus to Darwin for treatment for a wrist injury, despite Ms Bradshaw complaining of severe headaches and dizziness.

An urgent brain scan undertaken in Darwin found that Ms Bradshaw’s head trauma had led to a nine millimetre “displacement of the brain’s central structures from the middle”.

“The deceased’s treating doctors had formed the view that she was unlikely to survive,” Justice Barr said.

“They assessed that she had suffered a catastrophic brain injury with no viable treatment options.”

Justice Barr told Kennedy that, consistent with findings of the trial jury, he was confident that Kennedy's "conduct caused the death of the deceased”.

The court heard Kennedy had a criminal history of violent assaults and domestic violence order contraventions against Ms Bradshaw prior to the fatal assault.

Justice Barr said Kennedy had grown up in the remote community of Kalkarindji, and spent his younger years working as a stationhand in the territory’s outback pastoral industry.

No victim impact statements were supplied by the victim’s family, and no family members of either the victim or the offender were present in court for Kennedy’s sentencing.

Kennedy was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with a non-parole period of five years and six months, backdated to when he was arrested and taken into custody on July 19, 2024.