Family calls for tougher penalties after sickening home invasion

A violent home invasion in 2020 left a 69-year-old with minor head injuries after he was bashed by thugs looking for guns. While the bruises healed, the lasting stress led to a fatal heart attack a year later and now his family wants answers.

Rick Barton died from a catastrophic heart attack about a year after he was bashed during a violent home invasion at Hirstglen.

On a summer night in 2020 Rick Barton was staying at his business partner’s rural property when two men forced their way into the farm house.

It was about 4.30pm when intruders Liam Louis Hawkes and Reece Thomas Rapana confronted Rick and his partner at the Hirstglen property.

Ropana kicked and punched Rick while demanding the keys to a gun safe. When Rick refused to comply Ropana took a pair of fencing pliers and bashed him in the head. While this was happening Rick’s partner hid beside her bed and Hawkes made multiple trips to and from the property, taking cash and personal items.

The two men were arrested a short time later and charged with a raft of offences including robbery in company. Both received jail sentences after pleading guilty in the District Court.

Hawkes was released on parole after serving 51 days of 15 months sentence while Ropana was sentenced to seven years and will be eligible to apply for parole in July.

Rick’s son Anthony Barton said the sentences were inadequate and did not reflect the lasting trauma inflicted during the home invasion.

“My father was 69 when this happened and in the following years he was on edge every day,” Mr Barton said.

“This sort of thing does affect your life and it has the potential to go very wrong.”

Mr Barton said he saw his father’s health decline after the assault. He was cautious and selective in where he went and remained close to his home, only visiting the nearby coffee shop and Kurrawa Surf Club.

“He was very much on guard and being on edge all the time was taxing,” Mr Barton said.

The family believe the stress got the better of Rick, leading to a heart attack on October 3, 2021.

Rick died in an instant while revisiting the property.

Now his family are calling on the courts to pay greater attention to the lasting effects of violent crime with Mr Barton concerned that the one offender is out on parole now while the second could be home by Christmas.

“They didn’t kill anyone but they changed someone’s life,” he said