Will Richard Fisher, Natalie Jane MacDonald and Lynette Margaret McDonald in last ditch bid to avoid jail over Goolwa Beach vigilante hostage ordeal

The victim of the horrifying Goolwa Beach ordeal has told a court he still suffers vivid flashbacks over the violent attack.

A trio of thugs have begged to be spared jail time after they left a man with lasting nightmares after a terrifying hostage ordeal.
Will Richard Fisher, 42, Natalie Jane MacDonald, 48, and Lynette Margaret McDonald, 63, took the law into their own hands after wrongly believing the man knew about a missing woman’s whereabouts.
A victim impact statement was read to the District Court by the prosecutor on Thursday.

“I felt I lost all control during the assault and that my life was in their hands. I thought that I was going to die,” the victim said.

“I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.

The court heard Natalie MacDonald was the ringleader of the assault. Picture: Facebook

“The nightmares I had after the assault were unbelievable – they were so realistic, I would relive the sound of the hammer and the spade.”
The court heard MacDonald was the ringleader of the assault in April 2022 at Goolwa Beach and used a hammer on the victim, which caused injuries to his head and leg.

A prosecutor told the court the trio wrongfully targeted the man as they believed he knew the whereabouts of a missing woman.

“Vigilante justice can never be condoned in civil society,” the prosecutor said.

“Short of being able to produce the missing woman nothing that he was ever going to say or do was going to appease the mob,” Judge Anthony Allen replied.
The prosecutor pushed for immediate jail for MacDonald but said non-custodial sentences were open for McDonald and Fisher.
MacDonald and Fisher pleaded guilty to assault and false imprisonment, while McDonald pleaded guilty to assault by threaten of a weapon.

Miranda van Heuven, for MacDonald, pushed for a suspended or home detention sentence, saying her client was genuinely remorseful for her actions.
The court heard MacDonald had relapsed back into drug use at the time of the offending and was genuinely worried about her friend’s welfare but things escalated.

Indianna Davis, for McDonald, told the court her client who had worked as a nurse for most of her life before she had a traumatic year in 2013.

The court heard McDonald became acquaintances with people in the Victor Harbor drug scene and commenced recreational meth use, where she became acquainted with the co-offenders.

Ms Davis said McDonald’s role was very different from her co-offenders and she genuinely regretted playing a part in it.

Sam McDonough, for Fisher, said his client – who wrote an apology letter to the victim – didn’t believe the victim was being truthful about not knowing where the missing woman was.
“His intention … was to perform something in his mind of a citizen's arrest on (the victim),” he said.
However, Mr McDonough acknowledged the offending went way beyond anything that could have been considered reasonable in the circumstances.

Judge Allen placed MacDonald on supervised bail and ordered she be drug tested a minimum of six times before sentencing

“Your fate is hanging by a thread and it would not be in your interest to return any positive drug tests,” he warned her.
Judge Allen will sentence the trio in November.