Nicholas Lee James Sullivan faces court for unprovoked stabbing and scalping of Policeman Point publican Ray Logan in 2021

What caused this young man to stab a publican he respected “like a brother” 15 times and scalp him on the floor of his bar? Finally, a court has been given the answer.

A man’s desire for a bottle of Jim Beam started him down “a road of violence” that ended with him stabbing an innocent publican 15 times and then scalping him, a court has heard.

On Friday, Nicholas Lee James Sullivan wept in the dock as the Supreme Court heard what prompted the bloody assault of Coorong Hotel Motel patron Ray Logan in 2021.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Logan said Sullivan – whom he had known for years, and hired to perform odd jobs – broke into his Policeman Point business and “changed my world”.

“Without warning, you stabbed me in my chest and other parts of my body some 15 times … I don’t know why you tried to cut off my ear and scalp me as well,” he said.

“I had to have 47 stitches … the stab wound you inflicted to my head was 2cm deep … doctors had to remove a tiny piece of my brain and glue my skull back together.

“You actions have left me with a brain injury … the terrible impact you have caused to me is shocking.”

Nicholas Lee James Sullivan, who faced the Supreme Court charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to lesser offences. Picture: Supplied

Sullivan, 21, of the Coorong, was originally charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated causing serious harm with intent to do so.

He attacked Mr Logan on September 21, 2021 – police would later say they found Sullivan laying “curled up in a ditch, crying uncontrollably” after the incident.

“I’ve been told apparently I stabbed him or something and I would never do something like that, that’s just not me,” he told police upon his arrest.

“My grandfather was a Golden Gloves boxer, I don’t need a knife … Ray and I, we’ve never had a fight break out between us, I see him as a brother to me and I respect him.”

On Friday, David Moen, for Sullivan, said his client had no memory of the incident for several months and still did not know why he had used a knife.

He said Sullivan’s intention, prior to the attack, was not to hurt anyone but to “obtain alcohol”, namely a 700mL bottle of Jim Beam White Label.

“He took a drink of Jim Beam, that became a bottle, he went to get another and that took him down a road of violence,” he said.

The prosecutor said alcohol could explain, but never excuse, Sullivan’s actions and urged the court to impose a hefty sentence as a deterrent to both him and others.

“The sheer brutality of this unprovoked attack took place without warning, when the victim was defenceless,” she said.

Justice Anne Bampton remanded Sullivan in custody for sentencing next month.