William Charles Murphy, 28, jailed for Beenleigh train line hammer bashing

Confronting footage has revealed a passenger on a Logan train duck for cover as he was brutally bashed with a hammer in an unprovoked act of “gratuitous street violence” which forced an evacuation. GRAPHIC

A passenger on a Logan train was brutally bashed with a hammer in an unprovoked act of “gratuitous street violence”, forcing the train to be evacuated for 30 minutes and the thug responsible facing a lengthy stint behind bars

On September 29 on the Beenleigh train line, William Charles Murphy was acting erratically, pacing around the train.

His paranoid behaviour forced the line to be closed down for 30 minutes, where connecting train lines were then further delayed, heard Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, November 21.

Video played to the court showed a passenger enter the carriage and Murphy then pulling out a hammer from his pants and clobbering the innocent man over the head twice.

The victim could be seen bleeding profusely, with lacerations to his head and was attended to by police before being transported to hospital.

Senior police prosecutor Tim Wise said this type of cowardly thuggery was completely unacceptable and needed to be punished.

“It was completely unprovoked and the definition of gratuitous street violence,” he said.

“When one walks up to a stranger and hits them over the head, they should expect a long period of imprisonment.

“This man is no shrinking violet, he has a serious criminal history.”

Murphy pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and interfering with public transport.

Defence lawyer Hannah Wallace said the 28-year-old father of two worked as a painter and was extremely remorseful and regretful of his actions.

Murphy was sentenced to two years prison and was given a parole release date of May 29, 2024.

Magistrate Patrina Clohessy said the offending was inexplicable.

“Your behaviour was hard to comprehend, you entered a train and hit a random man with a hammer, completely unprovoked,” she said.

“That type of violence needs to be denounced by the community to deter people from behaving this way.”

Murphy had already served 52 days of pre-sentence custody.