Joshua Cowan, Joshua Elliott, Timothy Elder learn fate after ‘sickening’ Nowra kidnap and assault

A trio who brutally bashed a man, tore out clumps of his hair and placed his mouth over a gutter in a “sickening” kidnapping drug debt revenge plot have learned their fate in court, days after the vile footage emerged. Warning: Graphic.

A trio who brutally bashed a man, tore out clumps of his hair and placed his mouth over a gutter in a “sickening” kidnapping drug debt revenge plot have learned their fate in court, days after the vile footage emerged.

Joshua Cowan, 41, Joshua Elliott, 40, and Timothy Elder, 33, will each spend a number of years behind bars following Judge William Fitzsimmons’ judgment in Downing Centre District Court on Friday, after the trio each previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping with intent to cause harm.

The men were also each initially charged with aggravated break and enter, stalking, and common assault, however these were withdrawn following a plea deal.

Judge Fitzsimmons’ ruling follows this publication obtaining exclusive CCTV footage exposing the full horror of the attack, which unfolded on October 29, 2022, at a St Anns St property at North Nowra.

Court documents state the trio lured the victim whom they claimed owed them and associates drug money to the suburban home under the false pretence of a drug deal, only to ambush him with a barrage of punches and physical violence.

Joshua Cowan was one of the three men arrested and charged for the brutal kidnap plot. Picture: Facebook

The CCTV footage – which was viewed and condemned by Judge Fitzsimons as “sickening” – shows the victim struggling to escape as the men repeatedly slam him to the ground and pommel his head.

At one point, one of the attackers yanks him by the hair before throwing him back down, ripping out a clump in the process.

The victim was stomped, punched and dragged along the ground. Picture: Supplied

Cowan is then seen brandishing an angle grinder, while Elder stands on the victim’s neck.

Agreed facts state the power tool was previously used by Elliott inside the home to threaten to slice off the victim’s fingers.

The harrowing footage then shows the trio dragging the victim to the side of the road, where agreed facts state he was forced to place his mouth over the gutter as one of the men brought a car across to “take him out bush”.

As the vehicle pulled up, nearby residents began shouting, scaring off the would-be kidnappers.

Judge Fitzsimmons labelled the footage “absolutely sickening”. Picture: Supplied

The battered victim was later hospitalised with severe bruising.

Police arrested Cowan, Elliott, and Elder weeks later in Nowra, charging them and refusing bail.

They have remained in custody since, with the trio having now spent more than two years each already behind bars, according to their defence barristers Joseph Klarica, Jack Hibbard and Bernadette O’Reilly.

During sentencing, Judge Fitzsimmons acknowledged their time served, but condemned the crime as “particularly serious”.

“The offence of kidnapping was close to being completed,” he said.

“They wanted to put him in the boot of the car and ‘take him out bush’.”

Judge Fitzsimmons said the attack left the victim with severe PTSD, “physically and psychologically deteriorating him significantly”.

While labelling all three men “criminally culpable”, the Judge found Elliott and Cowan to have played the “largest roles” in the assault.

Both were sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of three years as a result. They will be eligible for release in late 2026 with time served.

Meanwhile, Elder was deemed to have played a lesser role and received a two year, 10 month sentence and will be eligible for release later this year.

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