Malcolm Kehoe: Woodridge man jailed for bashing elderly mum
A southeast Queensland man in his 50s bashed and manhandled his dying elderly mum, for whom he was the primary carer, so severely she had two black eyes and soiled herself, a court has heard. Now, the man has been sentenced.
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A Logan man who was the primary carer for his “high-needs”, dying 83-year-old mother bashed her so severely she soiled herself in the course of receiving a fractured eye socket and two black eyes, a court has heard.
Woodridge man Malcolm Sean Kehoe, 57, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh District Court on Thursday to a single charge of serious assault of a person over the age of 60.
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The disgraceful assault occurred about 7am on May 24 last year at his mother Josephine’s Woodridge home, which Kehoe moved into in 2016 to care for her.
The court heard Kehoe had been under increasing “caregiver strain” since late 2018, when Josephine’s condition declined significantly, such that she was visually impaired, deaf, and had mobility issues, requiring 24-hour care.
“It was clearly an unsustainable care situation,” defence counsel Nicholas Bennett told the court.
Issues came to a head on May 24 last year.
Josephine was attempting to sit in a chair when Kehoe inexplicably pushed her onto the ground, the court heard.
He pulled her up off the ground by the hair; she fell to the floor again, so he pulled her up again by her hair.
Kehoe then punched her in the face, fracturing her eye socket and causing her to soil herself.
During the assault, Josephine also sustained two black eyes, pooling of blood in her eyes, and facial bruising including to the mouth.
Kehoe called paramedics and initially claimed his mother had fallen over in the shower and hit her head, but under later police questioning he confessed to the abhorrent assault.
He is said to have told police that he loved his mother and “lost his temper... I shouldn’t have grabbed her, I got so angry”.
Josephine died in August 2019 of natural causes.
Kehoe inherited her Woodridge home, where he still lives.
Judge Craig Chowdhury said the case was “quite sad” and noted elder abuse was an increasing problem for society.
He jailed Kehoe for 18 months, to be suspended immediately as the defendant had served 109 days behind bars in pre-sentence custody.
A conviction was automatically recorded.
“I’ll never forget it (the assault),” Kehoe told the court after sentence was passed.
“I’ll never forgive myself.”