Hawthorms and Storm star Shem Tatupu jailed for 12 years for stabbing his lover in the head – after cops tried to rescue her from nine-hour torture ordeal

Former Hawthorn and Melbourne Storm player Shem Tatupu has been sentenced to 12 years and two months in prison for attacking his girlfriend after she tried to leave him. The case highlights the severe abuse and controlling behaviour she endured, and the court heard the attack took place while Tatupu was already serving a community correction order for assaulting a previous partner.

Tatupu, 39, pleaded guilty to common assault, non-fatal strangulation and intentionally causing serious injury; he had initially faced an attempted murder charge. The court heard he kept the woman captive for nine hours, repeatedly strangled and assaulted her, then stabbed her in the head with a kitchen knife as police arrived. A fragment of the knife remains lodged in her skull because surgeons judged removal too risky. He must serve at least nine years before becoming eligible for parole.