Liam James Godfrey: Reason for sickening attack that put Logan man in coma revealed

The reason for a Logan father’s brutal hammer attack on his ex-girlfriend’s new partner, that temporarily put him in a coma, has finally been revealed in gruesome detail.

The reason for a Logan Village father’s brutal hammer attack on his ex-girlfriend’s new partner that temporarily put him in a coma has finally been revealed in gruesome detail.

Liam James Godfrey, 26, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh District Court on Monday to charges of entering a dwelling with intent by break at night using violence while armed and wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Logan Village man Liam James Godfrey. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Godfrey forced his way into an address at Holmview looking for his ex-partner and her new boyfriend Dylan Elliot, 24, at about 10pm on July 10, 2020.

Godfrey located the couple in the backyard shed and struck Mr Elliot in the temple with a hammer after saying: “I’m going to kill you c***!”

Mr Elliot fled to the main house, followed by Godfrey, who managed to gain entry by smashing open a glass door with the hammer.

The male victim ran into the laundry where his wheelchair-bound paraplegic mother, Donna Elliot, had been at the time.

Ms Elliot reached up to grab Godfrey’s hammer in an attempt to unarm him, but during the struggle, she was pulled out of her wheelchair and onto the ground.

Godfrey fled the scene and was located by police the following day.

Mr Elliot was rushed to the hospital after suffering seizures due to bleeding in his brain tissue in the left frontal lobe and a depressed skull fracture.

While reading out her victim impact statement in court, Ms Elliot said she was left completely distraught during that time in hospital.

“I watched my son in a coma for over a week and not knowing if he was going to be all right, not knowing if I would get my son back,” she said.

“It has taken us a long time to get back on our feet and get on with our lives, and we’re still not there.

“You knew you did the wrong thing because you hid, but you were caught, and that didn’t end our nightmare.

“You destroyed the peace and safety of our home.”

Mr Elliot has now recovered and returned to work.

The court heard that while in custody, Godfrey told an undercover police officer that he would be “gutted” if his victim lived “but at the same time, it would be good if he does”.

Godfrey’s lawyer told the court his client, who has no criminal history, shared a child with his ex and had “worked himself into a state” after not being able to contact her.

He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment with an immediate parole eligibility date. The 576 days he spent on remand was also declared time served.

Originally published as Liam James Godfrey: Reason for sickening attack that put Logan man in coma revealed