A man who plunged a car into Lake Ginninderra with his estranged wife inside has been handed a partly suspended jail sentence for the "terrifying" and "degrading" domestic violence attack.
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Randall Shawn Williams, 52, and the woman had ended their volatile, 28-year marriage but were locked in a bitter dispute over ownership of a sports sedan when he threatened to kill her and sped the car off a boat ramp in July 2015.
The pair had argued at their Evatt home before Williams said to the woman: "Fine, if you do not give it to me, no-one will have it and I'll take the pair of us out and drive it into the lake".
In sentencing remarks published on Friday, Justice Richard Refshauge noted the ordeal showed feelings of love and commitment could translate into equally strong emotions of hate and despair when a relationship broke down.
"The criminal courts are regrettably too frequently faced with having to deal with offenders who, spurred on by such emotions, commit crimes, often serious crimes, which are in part driven by such negative emotions," he said.
Williams, who is in custody, pleaded guilty to unlawful confinement and threatening to kill shortly before an ACT Supreme Court trial was set to begin.
He had driven the pair along Ginninderra Drive before he turned sharply and accelerated down the ramp.
Williams braked at the last minute but the car slid and splashed into the lake, causing the front bumper to tear off and spraying water across the windscreen.
The woman opened the car door but Williams swiftly reversed so she couldn't get out.
When she eventually escaped, Williams drove the car towards her and hurled abuse out the window.
"I've calmed down now, but if you don't get back into the car, I'll be home before you and I'll kill your therapy dog," he said.
The woman eventually got back in the car and they went home.
Williams told his son that night he'd "overdone it this time". He later expressed regret and despair to police over his actions.
The woman said in a victim impact statement she still experienced debilitating nightmares and feared Williams would one day try to finish what he threatened to do that day.
Justice Refshauge accepted the ordeal was not premeditated, but said it must have terrified the woman.
"Mr Williams acknowledges this and the cruelty he displayed to her, as well as the degrading effect it had," he said.
He said the intensity of the dispute over the car was "concerning and a little puzzling" but acknowledged Williams felt angry, frustrated, hopeless and lost because of the marriage split.
Justice Refshauge said time spent in custody since his arrest had no doubt been "a salutary lesson".
"It is a serious blot on your character but, I think, despite your age, and from where I sit you are still a relatively young man, you can redeem yourself in the future."
Justice Refshauge sentenced Williams to two years and 11 months imprisonment.
He will be released from jail in late January upon entering a two-year good behaviour order.
