Thomas Harry Quinn in court for assault

A sawmill worker who hallucinated he was a werewolf and then a spider was spotted naked on the Bruce Highway following a ‘punishing’ attack on his sleeping mate.

Thomas Harry Quinn was sentenced in Gympie Magistrates Court on October 31, 2022, for assault. Photo: social media.

A 26-year-old sawmill worker, who believed he was a werewolf, stripped naked on the Bruce Highway after he “punished” his mate and ran away.

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Thomas Harry Quinn pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in Gympie Magistrates Court on Monday, October 31.

The court heard that Quinn ran into a friend at 1.30pm on May 18, 2022 and, after a chat, was invited to his friend’s home in Glenwood.

At about 11.30pm, his friend, asleep on the verandah, was woken up by an assault of punches and choking, along with accusations of “eating fish and animals”.

Quinn punched the victim about six or seven times in the face and on his shoulders, police prosecutor Vicki Kennedy-Grills told the court.

“You’re going to die if you don’t fight back,” Quinn shouted at his victim.

Thomas Harry Quinn was sentenced in Gympie Magistrates Court on October 31, 2022. Photo: social media.

And that is exactly what he did – the victim bit Quinn hard on the hand until Quinn began squeezing him in a headlock.

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The headlock forced the victim to pass out and he woke up at 4am on the grass. He made a complaint at the Gympie Police Station at 8am.

Quinn had since fled the scene with a bite mark and a broken hand, not knowing if he had just killed a man or not.

He was spotted in the dead of night on the Bruce Highway, stripped completely naked for all motorists to see.

Thomas Harry Quinn pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm. Photo: social media.

A passing stranger stopped his car to give Quinn a fresh pair of clothes. When police arrived at the highway scene they were still unaware of the assault that had taken place earlier, the court heard.

Quinn voluntarily visited the Gympie police station on May 26, to collect his belongings and speak with police.

He told police he had been hallucinating during the attack after smoking cannabis and believed his cigarettes had been “laced”.

He said he became increasingly paranoid and first thought of himself as a werewolf before he became a spider.

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Quinn grew enraged when his mate wanted to eat fish, telling the victim “fish may be genetically related to humans,” Sergeant Kennedy-Grills told the court.

He envisioned his friend as the devil then Jesus and he “had to take action to punish” the sleeping man.

Quinn had since abstained from taking any substances and got a job, lawyer Chris Anderson said.

He worked at a sawmill and had volunteered at the RSPCA, he said.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan called the turn of events “bizarre to say the least,” particularly his strip show on the Bruce Highway.

Quinn was placed on 18 months probation and ordered to pay $500 compensation. A conviction was recorded.