Sydney real estate agent Karl Howard, who attacked woman with a samurai sword while she was high on a cocktail of alcohol and drugs, avoids jail
A real estate agent who attacked a woman with a samurai sword and repeatedly punched another woman while high on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol has saved time behind bars.
Sydney real estate agent Karl Adon Howard was sentenced on Friday to a 27-month intensive corrections order, which he will serve in the community.
Judge Antony Townsden imposed strict conditions on Howard, including that he abstain from alcohol and drugs, be supervised and attend a domestic violence program.
He must also perform 250 hours of community service.
Real estate agent Karl Howard, who attacked a woman with a samurai sword and repeatedly punched another woman while high on a cocktail of drugs, has been spared time behind bars
In December 2022, Judge Townsden found Howard not guilty of two charges of grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.
The 46-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to lesser charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and assault.
The two women, then aged 27 and 29, were at Howard’s home in Annandale in the city’s west in February 2021 for an informal meeting where they drank and watched television.
Howard violently kissed and strangled a woman before hitting her four times in the head after taking a cocktail of Viagra, cocaine and Valium.
He hit the other woman with a samurai sword after she tried to intervene, leaving a deep gash on her arm.
Neither woman can be named for legal reasons.
Howard was sentenced on Friday to a 27-month intensive corrections order, which he will serve in the community. In the photo he is arrested in February 2021
Lawyer Matthew Johnston SC urged the judge on Friday not to impose further prison sentences as Howard had already spent time behind bars, in rehabilitation and on strict bail.
‘[Howard has] We have continued to improve and engage, but we accept that there is still more work to be done,” Mr Johnston said.
‘It is clear that there is a need for continued monitoring of drug and alcohol use.’
The former director of Ray White Balmain had paid $225,000 in compensation to one of the victims, Parramatta Crown Court heard.
Howard was arrested in February 2021 and remained in custody until he was granted bail almost a year later.
Karl Howard is pictured during a bedside interview with police following the attack on his Annandale home in February 2021
He also spent 80 days in the hospital while being treated for drug and alcohol addiction.
Judge Townsden took that period into account as part of the more than a year Howard spent in custody.
He also considered the impact on Howard’s mental health and prospects for rehabilitation if he were returned to prison and lost access to support services.
“I am satisfied that the offender’s risk of reoffending is low and that his rehabilitation would be best served under the conditions imposed by an intensive corrections order,” Judge Townsden said.
If Howard violates any of the conditions imposed while serving his sentence, he will be taken into custody immediately.