Noel Nicholas Hilder pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Wayne John Thackrah

The moments before a Fraser Coast grandfather became the victim of a deadly attack were revealed in court as the homeless man was dealt his punishment.

A homeless man whose violent attack led to the death of a 58-year-old grandfather after he was caught trying to break into his car has been sentenced in Maryborough Supreme Court.

Noel Nicholas Hilder, 66, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter on Monday as the family of his victim, Wayne John Thackrah, watched on.

Crown prosecutor Christopher Cook said Mr Thackrah had been living alone in his unit at Alice St, Pialba, when the attack happened in January 2019.

He had a white Ford ute that he was known to be protective of, Mr Cook said, and on the night of the incident, he had seen Hilder trying to get into his car.

Hilder, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been seen behaving in an “erratic” fashion in the time leading up to the incident, and the court heard he had not been taking his medication.

Mr Cook said the two men were not known to each other.

Hilder was yelling outside and had been “testing the door handles” on Mr Thackrah’s car, Mr Cook said.

Mr Thackrah confronted him, believing he was trying to steal his car.

Hilder then lashed out, punching out at Mr Thackrah and delivering blows to his head.

Noel Nicholas Hilder, 66, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter on Monday as the family of his victim, Wayne John Thackrah, watched on.

A wooden stick was also used to his strike his buttocks, Mr Cook said.

Mr Thackrah contacted his mother, Betty, and told her about the attack, but he went to bed and was not treated until the next morning when he called an ambulance.

He told them he had been injured in an attack, Mr Cook said.

Inside his apartment, the grave nature of his injuries was immediately clear, with evidence of heavy bleeding.

He was taken to Hervey Bay Hospital, Mr Cook said, where he was intubated and was later taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane.

Mr Thackrah, who had already been in significant ill health, would never regain consciousness and a week later he died of multiple organ failure.

Mr Cook said while it was accepted the assault was not premeditated, it was a substantial cause of his death.

The court heard the wooden stick was not used to cause injuries to Mr Thackrah’s head.

Hilder had left the scene in the aftermath of the attack but was later apprehended by police.

Wayne John Thackrah was critically injured outside his unit in Pialba.

He had been homeless due to his mental health struggles, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the court was told, but he had been off his medication for some time.

Hilder had left school at the age of 12, the court heard and had started an apprenticeship, finishing it at the age of 17.

Justice Peter Applegarth said he accepted Hilder could not have known about Mr Thackrah’s ill health or predicted that his general health was in such a poor state that there would be this “catastrophic” decline.

“Still, you beat him, you weren’t responding to any attack by him,” he said.

“Your plea is entered on the basis that you didn’t intend to kill him, you didn’t intend to cause grievous bodily harm to him.”

Justice Applegarth said in the case of manslaughter, there was not just one victim as it impacted on whole families.

“There’s a ripple effect,” he said.

“Here, the ripple effect is more like a wave of grief than a ripple.”

Hilder had spent about three years and 10 months in presentence custody, Justice Applegarth said.

He was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

Hilder was given immediate parole eligibility.

Do you need help?

Lifeline 13 11 14

headspace 1800 650 890

beyondblue 1300 224 636

Suicide callback service 1300 659 467