Shandee Blackburn murder accused assault victim’s injuries revealed

The extent of the injuries inflicted on a workmate by John Peros can now be seen for the first time.

The extent of the injuries inflicted on a workmate by John Peros – the man a coroner found to have killed Mackay woman Shandee Blackburn – can now be seen for the first time.

Photographs of the bloodied, bruised and swollen face of fly-in fly-out worker Alexander Gell have been released by the Perth Magistrates Court after Peros was found guilty of assaulting him at a remote mine site in WA’s Pilbara region.

The images, which show Mr Gell’s face in the immediate aftermath of the attack as well as the following day, show a laceration across his left eyebrow and a right eye that is almost swollen shut. The images also show cuts to his head and knee.

The exhibits also show minor injuries sustained by Peros in the incident. Peros argued in court that Mr Gell attacked him first, and photographs tendered as evidence showed a small cut on his forehead and grazes to his elbows.

Peros was found guilty of common assault earlier this month over the attack but escaped jail, and the former amateur boxer was fined $2000.

The attack took place in June 2020, just two months before a Queensland coroner found Blackburn had died as a result of a “very deliberate and targeted assault” at the hands of Peros.

That inquest followed a 2017 trial in which Peros was found not guilty of Blackburn’s murder.

The circumstances around Blackburn’s death are the subject of The Australian’s podcast, Shandee’s Story, which triggered an inquiry into multiple failures within Queensland’s state-run forensic laboratory.

Alexander Gell.

Peros’s assault on Mr Gell occurred a day after the pair had a disagreement while watching footage of a Black Lives Matter protest in which police officers were attacked.

During the trial, Mr Gell told the court Peros had said while watching the footage “all police officers should be stabbed and shot”.

Mr Gell told Peros he had friends and family in the police force and asked him how he would like it if Peros’s friends and family were in that situation, to which he said Peros replied “don’t threaten my family”.

Mr Gell then called him a moron and walked away.

The next day, as they worked to repair an excavator, Peros assaulted Mr Gell. By the time co-workers arrived after hearing Mr Gell’s screams, Mr Gell was trying to protect himself while Peros ­delivered multiple blows to his head.

Peros was represented in the most recent trial by Craig Eberhardt KC, who also ran his successful defence in the murder trial.

In his sentencing submissions, Mr Eberhardt took aim at the podcast and said everyone in the court during the murder trial knew the right verdict had been reached.

He successfully argued for his client to be given a spent conviction, which would allow him to resume his $160,000 per year job in the resources sector.

The guilty verdict, however, means police will likely retain the DNA collected from Peros as part of the assault investigation.

Queensland is now re-examining forensic evidence from thousands of cases following recent damning findings from the inquiry into the state’s forensics.

Peros has always denied any responsibility for Ms Blackburn‘s death.