A pensioner was wrongly branded a pedophile by a country town “rumour mill” before being beaten to death by a man searching for a missing teenager, a court has been told.
Anthony Davies, 35, was found guilty in April of the manslaughter of Kenneth Campbell, 74, in Parkes, central western New South Wales, in the early hours of May 6, 2020.
Davies probably hit Campbell at least once on the head after breaking into her home to look for the missing girl, his sentencing hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court was told on Friday.
Although Campbell was never charged with any sex crimes, he was nicknamed “Chester the Molester” around town due to his strange behavior, which may have been the result of a brain injury.
Campbell had previously been in two accidents that changed his personality and left him with one eye and facial scars.
Anthony Davies, 35, probably hit Kenneth Campbell, 74, at least once in the head after breaking into his home, his sentencing hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court was told on Friday. (pictured, Orange District Court).
Davies drunkenly broke into Campbell’s home that night and attacked him in his bedroom, crown prosecutor Michelle Swift told the hearing.
“The offender… entered the house because he believed the person who lived in that house was a pedophile,” Swift told the Orange court.
‘He entered the house with the purpose of looking for (the girl).’
Swift said Davies’ incorrect belief about Campbell aggravated the offense because he considered the older man to be part of a hated group.
There was also evidence of “significant force” as witnesses heard loud bangs coming from Mr Campbell’s home for about 10 minutes, he said.
But defense lawyer Scott Corish said Davies’ misinterpretation of Campbell did not make the crime more serious.
“He… broke into Mr Campbell’s home, but it wasn’t just because of that incorrect perception that he was a pedophile, the search was (for the girl),” Mr Corish said.
“Your Honor would not be convinced that it was an aggravating factor.”
Expert evidence heard at the trial found that the cause of Mr Campbell’s death was blunt force trauma, which caused a brain haemorrhage.
Davies was unaware of Campbell’s existing injuries, which left him vulnerable to “further bleeding,” when he hit him once, Corish said.
Campbell was found dead at his home on Best Street (pictured) in Parkes on May 6, 2020.
‘It would be a much more serious scenario if the tests clearly suggested repeated blows to the head area.
“In this case, my opinion is that it was a punch to the head.”
Corish said the defense team tried to provide Campbell with some dignity throughout the trial.
“All trials are carried out in an inconsistent manner and the label ‘paedophile’ was used as part of the rumor in Parkes,” he said.
“But at no point during the trial did we suggest that was even remotely accurate.”
Davies, dressed in black and with long hair, sat impassively in the dock throughout the hearing.
Judge Michael Walton will sentence Davies in the coming weeks.