Point Frederick: Damon and Luissa Arnesen convicted of attacking neighbour but dog ‘Buster’ cleared
A man hit a neighbour with a pole and his wife punched her in the head during a vicious attack in one of the coast’s swankiest suburbs. But the couple’s dog was cleared of any wrongdoing.
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A couple who viciously bashed their neighbour after she allegedly made disparaging remarks about a fmily member has been convicted.
But their American Staffordshire terrier named “Buster” has been cleared of mauling the woman after a court found the victim was an unreliable witness.
Damen Bradley Arnesen and his wife Luissa Arnesen faced a hearing at Gosford Local Court on Wednesday after both pleaded not guilty to assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company.
Damen, 64, also pleaded not guilty to causing a dog to inflict actual bodily harm.
The court heard there was a long-running discord between the couple and the female resident in the unit next door to their apartment complex at 160 Albany St, Point Frederick.
The dispute stemmed from the couple’s claims that the woman next-door had allegedly made disparaging remarks about a family member — a claim the woman denies.
The court heard on the evening of April 11 last year the resident heard a noise on the level below her unit and went outside to investigate when she was set upon first by Damen and then his wife.
The victim told the court the pair were both armed with poles, one of which could have been a black “walking stick” and they hit her on the back causing her to fall to the ground.
On the ground the victim told the court Luissa punched her “40 to 50 times” in the head before the couple’s staffy mauled her face.
Another witness, who heard the commotion but did not have a clear view, told the court they heard the dog barking and a male voice yelling either “Buster get here” or “Buster get her”.
However, giving evidence, Luissa told the court she had heard her husband arguing with another male resident downstairs when she came out of their unit and was confronted by the victim who she claimed was being hostile.
Luissa said her husband went inside and the victim allegedly started spitting at her through the screen door before the victim “ripped the door off”.
Luissa said she came outside and punched the woman “three or four times” to the left side of her face or head and stopped when she noticed blood coming from the area.
“I stopped and said something like ‘have you had enough now bitch?’,” Luissa told the court.
However she maintained she only struck the woman in “self defence” because she felt like she was about to be attacked.
Magistrate Jennifer Price said it was not clear how the screen door came off its hinges but “there is no doubt there were inconsistencies with [the victim’s] evidence” and she could not be “reliable”.
Similarly Ms Price also “rejected” Luissa’s account, which was unreliable while Damen did not give evidence.
However Ms Price accepted the victim had some injuries consistent with being struck on the back with an object and being punched in the face.
The magistrate also accepted the objective testimony of another resident, who was not involved, but saw Damen hit the woman on the back with a pole and Luissa punch her three or four times in the face.
Ms Price said this resident saw the “young dog” jumping around and barking excitedly but did not attack the woman.
The magistrate found both Damen and Luissa guilty of assault but not of acting in company. She also dismissed the charge of causing a dog to inflict harm.
The couple, who have been remanded in custody since the incident, had the matter adjourned to be sentenced next month.
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