Edward James Watson jailed for assault occasioning bodily harm

A man who murdered his ex partner and another person in 1983 has been convicted of viciously bashing another man at Burrum Heads over an argument about their dogs.

Edward James Watson has been found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

A convicted killer who brutally bashed another man with a timber staff at the Burrum Heads boat ramp was found guilty this week of assault occasioning bodily harm, while his shocking past was revealed in a Hervey Bay court.

Edward James Watson, 72, was sentenced to jail for two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm against Daniel Edward Barnes on December 20, 2023, and one count of wilful damage.

He had pleaded not guilty to the assault charges, but guilty to the wilful damage.

Crown prosecutor Aden Tranent began his submissions to Judge Ian Dearden by noting Watson’s criminal history in New South Wales and Queensland, although he later said the NSW history was “irrelevant”.

The court heard Watson had been convicted of two counts of murder in the Maryborough Supreme Court on March 3, 1983.

Edward James Watson

He shot his former partner and another person in 1982, Mr Tranent told the court.

“They were offences of significant violence and extreme violence against two people that the defendant had taken issue with,” he said.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment before being released on parole in 1995, the court heard. He had not been convicted of a crime since then.

Defence barrister Jack Kennedy told the court Watson had done a lot for himself and the community since his release 30 years ago, including being a cultural and political advisor.

Most notably, he contributed to the Black Deaths in Custody Report, with his name appearing in the document references.

“You’ve done some extraordinarily good things since you came out on parole,” Judge Dearden said as he handed down his sentence.

“I accept that Mr Barnes may have had a walking stick in his hand, but what you had was clearly something significantly bigger, longer, and clearly when used with force, something that caused significantly more injury than a walking stick.

“It’s clear what you did to Mr Barnes caused very significant injury.”

Watson was sentenced to 21 months jail for each count of assault occasioning bodily harm and three months for the wilful damage charge, with the sentences to run concurrently and to be suspended after seven months, with an operational period of two years.

Earlier in the trial, Watson said in a recorded police interview his victim, Daniel Edward Barnes, “f----n’ threatened to kill me”.

In the interview, Watson said Mr Barnes, 65, rushed and attacked him first with his walking stick.

He claimed Mr Barnes used a racial slur during the encounter, saying “I’ll kill you, you black c--- and your f-----g dogs”.

Watson then went on to detail the attack, claiming he was body slammed, kicked, and punched in the ribs.

“It was a defence thing,” he said on the recorded interview.

“It was only a walking staff.

“I’m not going to be a coward to someone who is as aggressive as they are.”

The court had heard that on the day of the assaults Mr Barnes was walking his two dogs on the beach at Burrum Heads with a walking stick when “about six” off-leash dogs ran towards he and his pets.

Daniel Edward Barnes leaves court after appearing as a witness in the trial of Edward James trial.

Mr Barnes claimed one of the unleashed dogs bit his border collie on the backside, leading him to try to beat the dogs off with his walking stick.

Watson, who was allegedly standing some distance away, began shouting at Mr Barnes, with the latter also yelling at him.

Mr Barnes began to retreat back to his car and drove to the Lion Park boat ramp to help an elderly lady who picks up rubbish and cans.

He parked his car to speak to the lady when a blue four-wheel-drive operated by Watson pulled in.

Watson jumped out of his car, saying to Mr Barnes “do you want to be a f****n’ hero?”.

Watson then pulled out a large wooden stick from his car and used it to strike Mr Barnes on the leg, causing a laceration to his skin.

Mr Barnes used his walking stick to “fend off” any more attacks.

Photos tendered to the court showed Mr Barnes’ bloody leg, as well as injuries on his left arm and hand from the next stick strike.

Watson also struck Mr Barnes’ mobile phone that recorded a portion of the altercation, and pleaded guilty to that charge.

He could be seen in the video, tendered as evidence, stabbing the phone with the stick.

Another point of contact between the pair happened when Watson wrapped his arms and legs around Mr Barnes, before Mr Barnes dropped his weight to the ground as a way to get him off.

Mr Kennedy later called this movement a “body slam”.

Originally published as Edward James Watson jailed for assault occasioning bodily harm