EXCLUSIVE
A disgraced building director who threatened to kill his pregnant wife and called their unborn daughter a ‘little c**t’ admits he’s ‘disgusted’ by his behaviour, as he tries to launch a new business.
Brendan Lionel Howe, 37, pleaded guilty in June to one count of aggravated assault, two counts of common assault and one count of property damage during a four-year campaign of abuse against his ex-wife.
The ACT Supreme Court heard he held her against a wall when she was 34 weeks pregnant and, in front of their toddler, screamed: ‘I rule the roost of this house. You should worship the f***ing ground I walk on. You’re a f***ing bitch. You’re a mutt.’
‘If you and that little c*** inside of you can’t see that I’m the boss and when I wanna f***ing talk about something I’m gonna f***ing talk about [it] and she’s gonna know that and you’re gonna know that.’
He walked away from court with a fully suspended seven-month prison term, a one-year good behaviour bond, a $1,800 fine and 50 hours of community service – and promptly hopped on a plane to Bali for five days.
Daily Mail understands Howe was only able to launch his highly-successful building business, Homes By Howe, because he received 50 per cent of the funding from his then-father-in-law.
It can also be revealed that Howe has now registered a new business name, Prvn Projects Pty Ltd. The Homes By Howe office has been subdivided, with two-thirds of the original floor space now up for lease.
Howe’s close friend told Daily Mail the father-of-two regrets resorting to violence and has had a number of psychology sessions so he can see his daughters again.
‘He wants to maintain a relationship with his kids, he’s disgusted by his own reaction, he’s devastated and we’ve worked hard to help him move on,’ she said.
Howe went into business with his then-wife’s father and set up Homes By Howe in 2017, following the collapse of his former business Twenty20 Projects.
By 2019, the business was very successful and Howe bought his father-in-law out – gaining complete control of the company.
Howe’s friend said his new business, Prvn Projects Pty Ltd, is separate to Homes By Howe.
She also said Homes By Howe is still receiving bookings.
During sentencing in June, Justice Louise Taylor said the business had generated ‘significant income’ but he had fallen into debt since his relationship breakdown due to legal fees and child support.
His ex-wife cried and shook uncontrollably as she delivered her victim impact statement, telling the court: ‘I was always the woman that said, “I’ll never be with a man who abuses me”.’
‘When you pinned me up against our bedroom door at 34 weeks pregnant, in front of [our daughter] – time stood still. I couldn’t believe it was happening, and that the man I loved, father of my children could actually kill me.
‘I tolerated this behaviour for so many years because of how much I loved you and ached for our family unit. I never wanted any of this. I was also scared of what you would do if I left. I was scared you would carry through with your threats.’
She said Howe continually blamed her for his abuse, saying she deserved it because he earned the money and had anger issues, and told the court he never apologised to her.
Days later, he missed supervised visits with his toddler in favour of a trip to Bali.
Homes By Howe appeared to operate as normal in his absence, but public records show he registered his new business Prvn Projects Pty Ltd on July 3.
On Tuesday, his old office was empty with a fresh ‘leased’ sticker on the front window.
Justice Taylor described Howe’s comments about his unborn child as ‘truly awful’, acknowledged his wife’s trauma, and found he showed no genuine remorse.
‘He is sad for himself,’ she said.
‘Perpetration of violence, usually by men against their female partners, is a familiar occurrence in this jurisdiction and across the country.’
She said these types of crimes have ‘life-altering consequences’ and it’s rare any sentence imposed by a court in such a case would help victims to simply move on and repair their lives.
However, she found he was motivated to change and had good prospects for rehabilitation.