Teacher refused bail after allegedly stabbing Keysborough Secondary College principal
Shocking details have emerged about the Keysborough Secondary College teacher accused of holding a knife to the throat of the principal after learning his contract would not be renewed.
An “enraged” Keysborough College teacher held a knife to the throat of the principal during a “harrowing” stabbing attack after learning his contract would not be renewed, a court has heard.
Shocking details of the alleged assault were revealed in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday as teacher Kim Ramchen, 37, fought to be freed on bail.
But he was ultimately unsuccessful, with Magistrate Andrew Waters refusing him bail given the risk he could “snap” for a second time and harm another person.
“Use of a knife … can easily result in injury or death,” Mr Waters said.
“In my view, there are no bail conditions that could ameliorate the risk to an acceptable level.
“Given the seriousness of the alleged conduct, were Mr Ramchen to snap, my view is that there is nothing his wife or brother could do to stop him.”
The court heard Mr Ramchen, who had worked at the school for two years, tracked down principal Aaron Sykes on Tuesday about 3pm after becoming aware that his contract would not be renewed for the following year.
After marking the roll, he walked from his classroom to the main office, where he allegedly grabbed a four-inch knife from the kitchen.
“He entered Mr Sykes’ office and immediately began assaulting him with the knife,” Sergeant Christopher Marlow told the court, adding that the principal sustained a cut to his lip and stab wound to his forearm.
“He then held the knife to the throat of Mr Sykes.”
The court heard assistant principal Matthew Sloan heard screaming and rushed to the office to pull Mr Ramchen off Mr Sykes.
The accused dropped the knife and walked out, but Mr Sloan lost sight of him.
Soon after, the school was placed into lockdown.
Sergeant Marlow told the court Mr Sloan then observed Mr Ramchen rifling through a cutlery drawer in the kitchen.
The court heard Mr Ramchen then returned to Mr Sykes’ office – with a 12-inch knife.
“He again held the knife closely to the face of Mr Sykes,” Sergeant Marlow said.
But Mr Sloan sprung into action again, pulling Mr Ramchen by the belt and pinning him to the ground.
In his police interview, Mr Ramchen said he became “enraged” when he tried to speak to Mr Sykes about his contract, but was dismissed.
“It caused him to mentally snap,” Sergeant Marlow said.
The court heard he made “full admissions” to stabbing the principal, admitting that he wanted to “completely incapacitate” him.
“I’ve never been so angry in my life,” he allegedly said.
When asked if he was remorseful, he said it was lucky people came to the aid of Mr Sykes.
His defence barrister Abbie Roodenburg said her client told her he went to see Mr Sykes to speak about his contract, but had the door “slammed in his face”.
She claimed this was what prompted Mr Ramchen to fetch the knife.
But Mr Waters said it appeared that Mr Ramchen had armed himself on the way to the office given Mr Sykes had told police there had been no conversation between them about the contract.
Ms Roodenburg said her client had been a “law-abiding citizen” his whole life, had no prior convictions and had the support of his family, including his wife.
His brother Lev told the court he was “shocked and bewildered” when he heard the allegations.
“Nothing remotely like this has ever happened before,” he said.
Lev said he would support his younger brother if he was released on bail, offering up $20,000 as surety.
He said he had been forced to take on a parental role at the age of 19, when their father Slavik died, after their mother Jacqueline vanished years earlier.
Lev described their father, who was once a suspect in his wife’s 1992 disappearance, as a “dominating personality” and a “hard taskmaster”.
The court heard his legal team may explore a mental impairment defence as the case progresses.
The police prosecutor argued that Mr Ramchen should not be granted bail, given he posed an “unacceptable” risk to the community.
“After the first attack, the accused was restrained and then went and sourced another knife and came back,” she said.
“This shows ongoing intention to harm the victim.”
She said he was “not justified” to attack the principal simply because he was denied a meeting.
Mr Ramchen has been charged with offences including assault with a weapon, unlawful assault and intentionally causing injury.
The Herald Sun understands he is set to be suspended by the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
He had not been on the radar of the education regulator for any prior incidents.
Mr Ramchen observed the proceedings from the dock as his family supported him from the public gallery.
He will return to court on January 6.
Hours earlier, Education Minister Ben Carroll confirmed that Mr Sykes had been discharged from hospital.
Mr Carroll said the principal was recovering at home following the “traumatic” incident as police continued to investigate.
“I’m very pleased to be able to say that the principal of Keysborough Secondary College has been discharged from hospital,” he said.
“My thoughts are with his family, his friends that will all be suffering from what occurred with this very traumatic incident yesterday.
“I also express my gratitude to the staff at Keysborough Secondary College who acted so promptly as this incident unfolded.”
Mr Carroll said he had been given a “high-level briefing” about the incident but would wait for further advice until he revealed more details.
He said he had not been told whether students witnessed the alleged attack.
“This was an assault,” Mr Carroll said.
“I know this was among staff, and I haven’t got that level of detail about the students that were in the facility.”
Mr Carroll said the school was open on Wednesday and students and staff were being offered mental health support.
As students slowly began returning to campus on Wednesday morning, parents continued to express shock over Tuesday’s incident, describing their “initial panic” as they learned of the stabbing.
Sinath, whose son is in Year 7, said she panicked when learnt the school was in lockdown.
“I got the message from the school that they were in lockdown,” she said.
“I was so worried.
“I rang my son straight away and he didn’t pick up his phone, so I got more worried.
“After I spoke to him I felt better, but I still don’t feel 100 per cent safe sending him to school today.
“Teachers are supposed to make kids feel safe.”
Another mother dropping her daughter off on Wednesday said she “didn’t know what to think” when she heard about the incident.
“I freaked out,” she said.
“Thank god my daughter was already out when it happened … but some of her friends were inside and had to hide.”
Originally published as Teacher refused bail after allegedly stabbing Keysborough Secondary College principal
