Man guilty of manslaughter over one-punch death of Box Hill hospital surgeon
A man who fatally punched respected surgeon and father of two Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann in a dispute over smoking outside Box Hill hospital has been found guilty of manslaughter.
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A young man has been found guilty of the one punch attack which killed a respected heart surgeon at Box Hill hospital last year.
A Supreme Court jury today found Joseph Esmaili guilty of manslaughter after fatally punching Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann in a hospital foyer in May 2017.
The 24-year-old had maintained his innocence throughout the five week trial, arguing he acted in self-defence and only threw the punch because he thought the surgeon was about to hit him.
PUNCH NOT MEANT TO BE ‘THAT HARD’
SURGEON BLED AFTER FATAL PUNCH
He stared straight ahead as the Supreme Court jury read out their verdict after two days of deliberations.
After more than four weeks on trial, Esmaili showed little emotion as he was found guilty, while several family and friends of the slain surgeon who were in court to hear the verdict remained composed throughout.
The court heard Esmaili and Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann were arguing about smoking in a non-smoking area of the hospital in the minutes leading up to the killer punch.
The force of Esmaili’s blow knocked the doctor unconscious, causing him to fall back and smack his head so hard it cracked the tiled floors.
Esmaili cried: “F**k, he made me do it” before running from the scene, leaving the father-of-two lying on the ground with blood pouring from his nose and ear, the court heard.
Hospital staff were at times brought to tears throughout the five week trial before Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth as they recounted the moments after the horror attack on their colleague.
Nurse Megan Brodersen described cradling the surgeon’s head in her hands as he bled and convulsed on the hospital floor.
Following the attack, Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann was rushed to the Alfred hospital to undergo emergency surgery.
He was placed in a medically induced coma before the decision was made to withdraw life sustaining treatment about a month later.
His wife told doctors her husband valued “being a father, husband and highly capable surgeon” and was looking forward to moments with his children, including teaching them to ski and ride a bike.
“(She said) He would be devastated if he could not do these things,” intensive care specialist Bevan Roodenburg wrote in a hospital memo read to the court.
Defence lawyer John Desmond had argued it was the act of withdrawing life support which led to Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann’s death, rather than the punch itself.
But Brendan Kissane QC for the prosecution said the medical treatment only delayed his death and the doctor would have ultimately died from his injuries without the intervention.
Esmaili, was supported in court by his mother and sister.
Justice Hollingworth said she anticipated the pre-sentencing hearing would take some time as victim impact statements would be submitted.
Esmaili was remanded in custody and will return to court in March.