Men accused of bashing St Kilda pensioner bailed after brazen attack
The alleged thugs who bashed a 73-year-old St Kilda man have been released on bail, as pensioner Simon Baric remains in hospital with “serious” injuries.
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A brave pensioner has been hailed a hero after trying to fight off two men about half his age with a cricket bat.
Dramatic video shows Simon Baric, 73, taking on two men after he sees them near his son’s motor scooter and car.
The footage shows Mr Baric being struck by two men, he then falls to the ground, where he is kicked.
Mr Baric’s son, Daniel, 26, told the Sunday Herald Sun his father’s skull had been fractured in the attack, with bone fragments driven into his brain.
“Surgeons say he will be in hospital for up to two weeks. He can’t remember much and he can’t really even speak. His injuries are serious,” he said.
“The streets are no longer safe.”
Mr Baric was trying to protect his son’s vehicles – parked outside his St Kilda home – and scare the men away when he was set upon.
St Kilda locals said they had seen the two men who allegedly assaulted Mr Baric in the street, rummaging through bins in the hours before Friday’s attack.
They said Mr Baric would have backed himself in challenging the men, given his exceptional level of fitness for his age.
Katherine Wilson said locals were “just fed up” with drugs and crime in the area.
“He’s kind and helpful and he was protecting his property. I honestly think the only reason he’s still alive is because of his fitness,” she said.
Marion Robinson, 51, said Mr Baric miraculously managed to make his way upstairs to his bathroom after the attack, where she found him bleeding profusely and administered first aid.
“When I saw him he was bent over the bath and he had blood everywhere, it was really horrible to see this old man, shaking and in shock.
“He just had so much blood everywhere, he was soaked in blood.”
Ms Wilson said frightened community members had waged a campaign for a year to have the Port Phillip council install security cameras in the court “but absolutely nothing has happened”.
“It’s a consistent daily issue with the dealers and druggies hanging around there, breaking into stuff,” she said.
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Mr Baric’s neighbour John Baumann, 48, videoed the attack and called emergency services.
Victoria Police said two men had been charged with assault related offences and bailed to appear in court next year.