A man who killed his father during an argument for using “too much water” to hose the garden will be released from jail.
Timothy Howard McCaffrey, 45, pleaded guilty in the Queensland Supreme Court on Tuesday to the manslaughter of his father, David McCaffrey, 69, and Clontarf northeast of Brisbane.
The court heard David McCaffrey scolded his son for using too much water in the garden before heading back inside the home.
The father and son kept arguing on a staircase inside the house when Timothy yelled “you deranged bastard” before grabbing his father by the throat.
The court then heard the son pushed his father, causing the older man to fall down the stairs cracking his head on the concrete floor.
Timothy tried to use CPR to revive his father and called Triple Zero, but the man passed away in hospital the next morning.
Timothy told police officers that his intention was never to kill his father, and that it was an accident.
But the court also heard that Timothy originally told police, “if he’s dead I’ll be happy”.
He was sentenced to five years' jail wholly suspended after already having spent 883 days in custody.
This article originally appeared on Over60.