South West burglar, Clive Frank Parfitt, jailed for “terrifying” midnight knife attack in Busselton home

A South West burglar’s “terrifying” acts to steal a handbag by threatening and stabbing a man in the dead of night has resulted in his fourth stint behind bars. Clive Franklin Parfitt was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison by the Busselton District Court after a jury unanimously found him guilty of aggravated home burglary and unlawful wounding in December. Less than a year after being released from prison for aggravated burglary, Parfitt broke into a Busselton woman’s home to nab a handbag. When confronted by the home’s nude occupant, Parfitt produced a hunting knife and threatened to kill the man while holding the knife behind the man’s neck and stabbing him twice in the leg. The violent altercation was witnessed by the man’s partner and two children who had woken in the commotion. It was revealed in court Parfitt had been convicted of aggravated burglary on three separate occasions in the South West since 2008, facing prison each time. Parfitt’s criminal history had been accompanied by substance abuse issues, including addictions to cannabis, heroin and methamphetamine at various stages in his life since he was 14 years old, and he regularly abused alcohol as an adult. Defence lawyer Michael Devlin described the incident as a “burglary gone horribly wrong” however Parfitt was finally ready to turn his life around. Judge Vicki Stewart highlighted the “chilling similarities” between Parfitt’s multiple burglaries over the years, saying there was no option other than prison. “People are entitled to feel safe in their own home,” she said. “You used actual violence against the victim, it was merely fortuitous the victim did not sustain more serious injuries. “There can be no doubt this was a terrifying incident for all the people inside that house.” Parfitt was made eligible for parole after three years and nine months and his sentence was backdated to his arrest in December 2019.