A woman whose husband threatened to kill her before plunging their car into Lake Ginninderra with her inside refused to beg for her life and had vowed to face death with as much dignity as she could muster, a court has been told.
The wife of Randall Shawn Williams, 51, still experienced "frequent and debilitating" nightmares and lived in fear he would one day show up and try to finish what he threatened to do in Belconnen in July 2015, she said in a victim impact statement.
The pair, who separated shortly before the incident, had been locked in a dispute over their car when Williams had vowed: "Fine, if you don't give it to me, no one will have it.
"I will take the pair of us out and drive it into the lake."
Williams told her to get out so he could drive and began to yell abuse, saying he would kill her, as he drove erratically to a car park beside the lake in Belconnen, where he headed towards a boat ramp.
He accelerated hard and drove the front of the car into the lake. He braked at the last minute but the car hit the surface and water splashed onto the bonnet and windscreen.
His wife tried to get out but Williams reversed quickly so she couldn't.
She managed to escape and he drove towards her as she walked along the road.
The woman got in the car and the pair went home after Williams threatened to kill her dog.
Williams was charged after he made full admissions during a police interview. He pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to threatening to kill and unlawful confinement.
In a statement read during a sentence hearing on Thursday, the woman said she still vividly remembered her fear she would drown in the lake.
"I remember taking one step away from the water in zombie fashion wondering what his next action would be," she said.
"My thoughts at the time were that I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing me beg for my life - I would face death with as much dignity as I could muster."
Defence lawyer Louise Taylor described the incident as sad and tragic for both parties and said Williams had been struggling to come to terms with the end of his 28-year marriage when he became fixated on the car.
"It all became too much. He snapped."
Ms Taylor said Williams acknowledged in hindsight the terror and trauma his cruel, degrading, and "out of proportion" crimes caused.
He had no intention of contacting his ex-partner and the court was told divorce proceedings were on foot.
She pressed for a suspended term of imprisonment or possibly an intensive corrections order, which would allow Williams, who has spent more than 470 days in custody, to serve his sentence in the community.
Crown prosecutor Mark Fernandez said the incident was "obviously a very, very serious series of events" and noted the woman had felt compelled to move interstate.
Justice Richard Refshauge said the crimes were "extraordinarily serious", with elements of "brutal frightening" towards his partner.
He couldn't easily see that Williams had reached a point where no further time in custody was required.
Justice Refshauge reserved his decision.