Scorned husband goes on berserk rampage after finding his wife and brother having sex in the back of a car… but that’s not the worst part

A scorned husband who found his wife and brother having sex in the back of a car, while his mother sat in the driver’s seat, has been jailed after going on a rampage with a shovel while screaming that he was going to ‘kill them all’.

David McCulloch, 41, was sentenced in the Burnie Supreme Court, in northern Tasmania, on Friday to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to a string of assault charges, along with possession of cannabis and a homemade firearm.

According to court documents, the situation began on March 28 when McCulloch  tried a number of times to call his wife, Jacinta King, but she didn’t answer her phone.

The couple, who met when they were teenagers and have been together for 25 years, have four adult children together and matching tattoos. They married six years ago and share a home with his mother, Sue McCulloch.

On the evening of the incident, Mrs McCulloch had driven Ms King to the home of her older son, Jamie McCulloch. Once they picked him up, she drove to a block of units and stopped in a nearby carpark.

When McCulloch couldn’t reach his wife, he became suspicious and drove to the carpark where found Ms King having sex with his brother, Jamie, in the back of the vehicle.

Unbelievably, his mother sat in the front, apparently unperturbed by what was going on behind her.

Jamie McCulloch (pictured) had sex with his sister-in-law in the back of a car, while his mother sat in the front

McCulloch opened the rear car door and started punching his brother in the chest and body, before pushing his wife into the car window and punching her several times in the head.

When Jamie jumped out of the car tried to escape the scene, McCulloch grabbed a shovel from his car and started beating his brother while shouting death threats.

His mother tried to intervene and was pushed backwards into a wheelie bin.

When Jamie successfully escaped, a raging McCulloch smashed the shovel so hard on the car that it broke into two pieces. He then used the broken handle to beat his wife in the head, before punching her in the eye.

Neighbours called police and McCulloch was arrested and taken to Devonport Police Station. Jamie and Ms King were taken to Mersey Community Hospital with bruising and minor lacerations.

When interviewed by police, McCulloch expressed extreme frustration over the incident and claimed that his brother ‘deserved it’.

He also told authorities about a homemade firearm and ammunition that he had at home.

Sue McCulloch (pictured) drove Ms King, her daughter-in-law, and her older son to a carpark so they could have sex 

Ms King and David McCulloch (pictured) have been together for 25 years and married for six

When police raided the property, they found the unsecured weapon in the laundry and about 240g of cannabis in zip-lock bags. He later confessed to selling and supplying the drug.

During sentencing on Friday, Justice Tamara Jago accepted the circumstances surrounding the violence were ‘confronting’.

She said: ‘The betrayal by your wife and brother, and the apparent acquiescence of your mother, must have been upsetting, and whilst one can appreciate that would give rise to a level of angst and frustration, it in no way excuses what you then did. 

‘It does, however, place your behaviour into a specific context. 

‘This was not premeditated or planned behaviour, but rather was a spontaneous reaction to you discovering a difficult situation involving a breach of trust.’

The judge said McCulloch intended to commit grievous bodily harm on his brother, but – given the mild nature of his injuries – it was unlikely the majority of blows with the shovel actually connected with Jamie’s body. 

She continued: ‘The actual harm occasioned was moderate. 

David McCulloch (pictured) and his wife have matching rose tattoos on their hands. He also has ‘all or nothing’ inked on his chest

Jacinta King has ‘no regrets’ tattooed on her arm. She and he husband have matching roses on their hands

‘There is no question that what you did was exceptionally serious and your use of the shovel had the potential to cause serious harm, but the context in which the violence was committed was, in all of the circumstances, morally provocative.

‘You reacted most inappropriately, but I accept it was an emotive response to the circumstances that you had discovered.’

She was satisfied McCulloch was not at risk of reoffending and took his early guilty pleas into consideration, but said the sentence had to reflect the serious nature of the crimes and serve as a general deterrence.

McCulloch was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, backdated to May 7 when he was taken into custody.

The final 18 months of his sentence will be suspended on the condition that he does not commit any crimes for two years.

He was also fined $1,000 and will be eligible for parole in February.