18-year-old Toowoomba boy pleads guilty to grievous bodily harm of bludgeoned elderly man

The vicious teenage attacker walked free from court after the judge said it was clear he had taken ownership and made significant changes to his life.

An 18-year-old has pleaded guilty to the grievous bodily harm of an 81-year-old man. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A young man, whose actions caused a worried Toowoomba family to upgrade their security, left an old man bleeding to death on the ground.

The now 18-year-old Toowoomba man, who cannot be named as he was a child at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to the grievous bodily harm of an 81-year-old man before the Childrens Court of Queensland on Monday after CCTV footage revealed the extent of his grisly attack.

Crown prosecutor Perian Cardiff told the court the boy had frequented the family home to harangue the victim’s grandson for money.

“As a result of this, the complainant had installed CCTV at the address,” Ms Cardiff said.

On March 9, 2024, the boy and another young person went to the address where they confronted the elderly victim.

“There was a discussion where the defendant made some threats to the complainant, the defendant left the property and yelled to the complainant; as such, the complainant beckoned him back to the residence.

The court heard a “short scuffle” ensued between the two when the boy grabbed a fence paling.

“The complainant was very unsteady on his feet, he was brandished his walking stick when the defendant had approached him and the defendant has used a wooden picket,” Ms Cardiff said.

The man swung at the boy with his cane but missed, dropping the walking stick in the process.

“As he bent down to retrieve the walking stick the defendant has struck him in the back of the head with the fence picket twice with force,” Ms Cardiff went on.

“The blows caused the complainant to fall backward, bleeding profusely and he was unable to get up.”

The man suffered severe bleeds on both sides of his brain, hearing loss, movement problems.

A heart condition was triggered in the man as a result of the attack which limited his ability to drive and stopped him using air travel.

“I was unable to visit my younger brother before his passing, unable to say goodbye,” the man said in a statement to the court.

The man said his daughter was forced to halt cancer treatment to be by his side while he remained in hospital with his life on the line.

“For a period of time it was uncertain if I would survive,” he wrote.

“I’ve become reclusive, locking myself in my bedroom, constantly monitoring security cameras.

“Simple tasks like walking have become daunting due to the fear of falling.

“This has irrefutably changed my life causing ongoing physical, emotional and psychological suffering.”

Defence barrister Jessica Goldie instructed by Skuse Graham Criminal Lawyers said, at the time of the attack, the boy had been left to survive on his own.

“(The boy) was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression prior to the offence.

“He was left without electricity, no running water, no resources, he was left unsupervised.

“He was engaging with anti-social peers to sustain himself, engaging in anti-social behaviour.

“He felt bad for assaulting the victim … (he) indicated that the court proceedings had been a wake-up call for him.”

Ms Goldie added the boy had taken drastic steps to address his mental health and anger issues following the attack.

“He didn’t go to that address to harm anyone, he wasn’t (initially) armed,” she said.

“He was going there to obtain money to which he believed he was owed, and this is in circumstances where, at the time, he was effectively homeless – so that money was obviously more important to him than it might be to somebody else.”

Judge Suzanne Sheridan sentenced the 18-year-old to 18 months detention with immediate release on a conditional release order for six months.

“The actions you’ve taken since this offending and the comments you’ve made … make clear you’ve taken ownership and made significant changes in your life,” she said.

No conviction was recorded.

Originally published as 18-year-old Toowoomba boy pleads guilty to grievous bodily harm of bludgeoned elderly man