Man accused of fatally punching surgeon told witness of anger control troubles, court hears
A MAN accused of fatally punching a surgeon at Box Hill hospital told a witness he had trouble controlling his anger and “wished the bloke would’ve left him alone”, a jury has heard.
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A MAN accused of fatally punching a surgeon at Box Hill Hospital told a witness he had trouble controlling his anger and “wished the bloke would’ve left him alone”, a jury has heard.
Joseph Esmaili, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of heart surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann in May last year.
The court heard the argument between the pair was sparked after Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann complained to security about a group smoking in a non-smoking area of the hospital.
ACCUSED ONE PUNCH KILLER JOSEPH ESMAILI’S TRIAL BEGINS
Witness Lucas Rogers, part of the group, said the surgeon seemed “very aggressive” and saw him “chest bump” Mr Esmaili.
Mr Rogers was unable to identify the “chest bump” when shown CCTV footage in court but said he could see it from where he was standing on the night of the incident.
Mr Rogers, who said he had only met the accused a few times, drove Mr Esmaili to a friend’s parents’ house after the incident.
“(Mr Esmaili) said when someone pushes him like that, it’s hard to control his anger,” Mr Rogers said in a police statement read to the court.
“He was upset the entire thing happened,” he said.
The trial resumes on Friday.