Husband Jeffrey Diprose makes bomb hoax call to stop wife, Jalia, from getting to IVF appointment

A father has faced court after calling in a bomb threat that caused morning peak hour chaos because he wanted to stop his wife from getting to her IVF appointment.

The Queensland dad walked free on probation despite about 80 people on four buses being forced to be evacuated as a result of his call in what the judge called a ‘strange case’.

Jeffrey Owen Diprose, 39, from Redland Bay, in Brisbane’s south-east, called bus operator Translink from a public phone box on October 28, 2021, claiming he had planted an explosive device on a bus on route 281.

In Brisbane District Court on Friday, Commonwealth prosecutor Sinead Butler said his wife was on her way to an IVF appointment, travelling on that bus route and he intended to stop her from arriving, reported the Courier Mail.

‘He was effectively trying to prevent her from going to an appointment for IVF treatment,’ Ms Butler said.

A psychiatrist’s report was presented to the court in which Diprose disclosed the motive behind his bomb hoax.

‘In my submission, the conduct was extreme and excessive, for what appears to be a marital dispute,’ Ms Butler submitted.

‘It’s an offence which inspires fears in others.’

The hoax resulted in 80 people being evacuated from city buses in the morning peak hour, with the call made at 7.33am.

Judge Paul Smith said his actions caused the public to fear, all because he didn’t want his wife to attend the appointment due to the expense associated.

Ms Butler said following the bomb hoax call all four buses on route 281 were evacuated and police had to sweep each one for bombs.

Diprose was identified from CCTV footage at the payphone and was charged after police swept his home on December 2, 2021, and found the clothes he was wearing in the CCTV vision.

Mr Diprose pleaded guilty to a single charge of a bomb hoax and walked free on probation despite 80 people on four buses being forced to evacuate as a result of his call in what the judge called a ‘strange case’ 

The court heard the 39-year-old is still living with his wife Jalia Diprose, who is financially supporting him as he is unemployed, even writing a letter of support for her husband to the court.

As a result of IVF, the couple took out a credit card with a $50,000 limit and as a result find themselves in a financially bad position.

The couple has a seven-year-old son together, who is home-schooled, and Diprose has two other children from a previous relationship which he pays child support for.

Diprose pleaded guilty to a single charge of a bomb hoax.

Judge Smith convicted him and sentenced him to a two-year probation.

On sentencing, Judge Smith said Diprose was clearly ‘very embarrassed’ by what he had done and was suffering from depression at the time he made the call.