Pensioner witness collapses

Press, 16 June 1988, Page 16

Pensioner witness collapses

A war pensioner, aged 65, who suffers from emphysema and a heart condition, received ambulance treatment and was admitted to hospital on April 19 after being pushed by Desmond Russell Gray, and falling to the ground, during a domestic ■ incident at Gray’s flat. Yesterday, the same man, Francis Marco Musso, collapsed in the District Court after giving evidence against Gray in an assault charge arising from the April 19 incident.

An ambulance was called and treated the man on the District Court floor, and he was then taken on a stretcher to an ambulance, and to hospital.

After a defended hearing yesterday, Judge Hattaway convicted Gray, aged 27, a baker’s labourer, of a charge of assaulting Mr Musso. The charge was reduced after the completion of prosecution evidence from an assault under provisions of the Crimes Act, to one under provisions of the Summary offences Act.

For this offence and two other related assaults on a girl aged 16 during the same incident, Gray was jailed for six months. One month’s imprisonment was imposed for the assault on Mr Musso, and concurrent terms of six months 'each were imposed for assaulting the girl aged 16, and for assaulting her using a knife as a weapon.

Gray had admitted the two charges of assaulting the girl. However, evidence was heard yesterday on these assaults as Grey disputed having had the knife

when he assaulted the girl.

He claimed to have dropped it outside a car in the driveway, before getting into the vehicle and punching the girl. Mr G. A. Hay appeared for Gray. Sergeant W. P. Creasey prosecuted.

Considerable evidence was given of events leading to the assaults, with the girl having gone to the flat occupied by her girl friend and Gray. Her purpose was to apologise and make truce “for her girl friend’s sake” for an argument she and Gray had had a fortnight before. When she spoke to Gray he told her to “ off,” and hit her several times. Mr Musso, who was visiting the flat with his daughter, went outside and told the girl to get in his car to avoid Gray. She locked the front doors, not realising the rear doors were still unlocked.

She heard her girl friend call out to Gray to put that down, and saw him come out of the flat with a "small version of a steak knife.”

Gray got into the back seat of the car and tried to stab her with the knife. The blade touched her on her shoulder, but did not pierce her skin. She dug her fingernails into his wrist and made him drop the knife. She got out of the car and he grabbed her hair and pulled her, and said he could kill her. She pushed him back. He started hitting her and they finished up by a fence.

She was punched on her temple, jaw, and stomach. They were hard blows.

Everybody was screaming for him to stop. While Gray was hitting her, Mr Musso approached with a mop and hit Gray on his head. She fell away and saw Gray push Mr Musso to the ground. The witness got away along the drive, and looked back and saw Gray had gone. Mr Musso said that while he was inside the flat he heard crying and went outside and told the girl to get into his car. He then told Gray the girl had only called to apologise to him. Gray told him to get off the -—property. Mr Musso went inside and then heard screaming.

He went outside and Gray told him if he went near him, he would “do” him too. Mr Musso said as far as he knew Gray was trying to get to the girl, in the car. He was determined that Gray would not. The witness grabbed a mop and aimed at Gray’s shoulder to divert him, and give the girl a chance to get away.

Gray pushed his shoulder and he fell to the ground. Everything was just a blur after that, he said. ■.;

He said he was taken to hospital and subsequently twice had surgery. He had a pacemaker inserted. Mr Musso said that before the Incident he had breathing problems and suffered from emphysema. He carried an inhaler.

He hit Gray with the mop because he was hot physically capable of using his hands.

He did not believe in a man’s hitting a woman

and he tried to stop that

“Man to man I could not have done anything,” Mr Musso said.

During cross-examina-tion, Mr Musso said he did not blame Gray for his condition. He said he did not accept that it was likely the blow he struck Gray could have upset him (Mr Musso) and caused his health to deteriorate.

He said he would possibly have suffered the condition he now had, but not at that time.

Mr Musso collapsed while being helped from the Court after giving evidence. Ambulancemen were called and he was treated in Court, during an extended mid-morning adjournment, before being taken to hospital. After completion of prosecution evidence, the charge of assaulting Mr Musso was reduced to one under the Summary Offences Act, on the application of Sergeant Creasey. Grey said in evidence that the girl arrived and said she wanted to call a truce. He told her to — off and leave him alone. He then "whacked” her several times. He said he was then called inside, but was so wild with anger.

He had a bit of an anger problem, which he wanted to sort out. “I went outside and tried to hang myself, but this young joker tried to stop me. I went back inside and grabbed a knife,” the defendant said.

He did not know what he was going to do with it, but was not going to stab the girl. He dropped it before getting into the car where the girl was.

He punched her five or six times in the car.

Gray said that when Mr Musso called at the flat with his daughter he said he .felt sick, and a cup of tea' was made for him. He said of the events that day that the girl did not leave him alone and it just brought on his anger. Cross-examined, Gray said he did not threaten the girl with the knife. He dropped it outside the car. The reason he took it from the flat probably was to frighten, not threaten her. He said he never touched Mr Musso, and was going to help him after seeing him fall to the ground. Before Gray’s sentencing, Mr Hay submitted that a sentence of periodic detention, with provision for anger-man-agement counselling, be imposed. The Judge said he accepted the evidence that Gray tried to stab the girl. Fortunately, a rather ineffectual weapon was used, but the use of a knife against another person could not be condoned. The Judge also accepted the evidence that Grey had pushed Mr Musso, who was frail and not in good health. The push would have had little effect on a more robust man,'but knocked Mr Musso to the ground. If Mr Musso had not intervened, the assaults on the girl could have gone on, with even worse consequences, the Judge said. He said he took into account Gray’s personal circumstances, in making the prison sentence shorter than might otherwise be the case.