Ethan Eden-Elmes, 19, jailed for violent attacks

A violent teenager who strangled his mother unconscious and assaulted a 17-year-old boy on a Corio bus, has been slammed by a magistrate for laughing in court.

Ethan Eden-Elmes was convicted of two violent attacks, one on his mother the other on a 14-year-old boy on a bus. Picture: Facebook.

A violent teenager who strangled his mother unconscious and assaulted a 17-year-old boy on a Corio bus, has been slammed by a magistrate for laughing in court.

Ethan Eden-Elmes, 19, of no fixed address, appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday, via videolink, and was jailed for seven offences, including two counts of unlawful assault, threatening to inflict serious injury, attempt to commit an indictable offence, reckless conduct endangering life and refusing to leave a place after a warning, to which he pleaded guilty.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Andrew Clapham told the court Eden-Elmes attacked a 17-year-old boy on a bus in Corio on October 5 this year.

The court heard after the boy got on the bus, Eden-Elmes began “swearing” at him and threatened to “stab him in the neck”.

The boy and his friends ignored Eden-Elmes, the court heard, until he noticed a chain the boy was wearing around his neck and told him to hand it over.

One of the group told Eden-Elmes to leave him alone.

The court was told Eden-Elmes said “I do this for a living”, before punching the victim in the head.

The court was told the boy felt “shaken and scared” after the incident.

Constable Clapham said the next day, Eden-Elmes went to his mother’s house in Norlane.

She asked him to leave and began calling triple-0, but Eden-Elmes grabbed the phone and grabbed her around the throat, strangling his mother until she lost consciousness.

Later that day, Eden-Elmes again appeared at the address, banging on the door and demanding to be let in.

His mother refused, and attempted to flee the property, only to be chased and punched repeatedly, resulting in “some swelling and bruising”.

The court heard she also lost her voice due to the strangulation and was “in visible pain when speaking and swallowing”.

Eden-Elmes lawyer, Jess Wensley, said her client was aware the charges represented was “very serious offending”, but it did not stop him laughing in court when the summary of the bus attack was read out.

“I’m not sure what you think is funny,” Mr Holzer told Eden-Elmes.

Eden-Elmes apologised, but was soon warned again by Mr Holzer to “pull (his) head in”.

“The lack of insight that you plainly have is demonstrated by your conduct today, which I think is really disrespectful,” Mr Holzer said.

“Disrespectful not just to me and the court, but disrespectful to the victims and of these lives you’ve affected.”

Ms Wensley told the court Eden-Elmes had been homeless at the time of the attack on his mother, and had a number of diagnosed disabilities including ADHD, PTSD, conduct disorder, attachment disorder, OCD and a mild language disorder.

“He doesn’t have any family supports … he’s essentially on his own,” Ms Wensley said.

“He does obviously have a significant history of mental health issues.”

Mr Holzer said Eden-Elmes had a “concerning” 14-page history of prior offending, with the most recent matters settled on September 23.

Originally published as Ethan Eden-Elmes, 19, jailed for violent attacks