Killer guilty over postmaster’s servo assault, death
A jury has found Troy Maskell (left) guilty of manslaughter over his attack at a service station. Photo: AAP
The man who struck a country postmaster on the head during a random attack in northern Victoria has been found guilty of manslaughter.
John Bourke, who lived alone at the back of the Strathmerton post office in northern Victoria, would often pop down to a local service station to chat to the attendant for company in the evenings.
But he was fatally attacked in the early hour of August 8, 2021 by Troy Maskell, who hit him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicked him on a hard tile floor.
Maskell’s girlfriend had falsely accused Mr Bourke of being a pedophile.
Mr Bourke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack.
A jury returned a guilty verdict against 44-year-old Maskell on Monday morning after a trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.
Jurors had heard Mr Bourke had smiled and asked Maskell’s girlfriend and their daughter how they were when they entered the service station that night.
The 10-year-old replied that she was good before her mother jumped in with the wrongful accusation, followed by aggression and abuse.
“I’ll rape you,” the woman told Mr Bourke, who was trying to keep his distance, before Maskell entered and asked if there was a problem.
Maskell picked up a bottle of sports drink and hurled it at the 73-year-old’s head then kicked him in the hip, causing him to fall to the floor.
He stomped on Mr Bourke’s glasses, walked away and returned to kick him again.
Mr Bourke was conscious and in pain when paramedics arrived. He was taken to the local Goulburn Valley hospital and then urgently transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital when blood clots were discovered on his brain.
He died on October 28 from a brain injury.
Maskell told police the night was blurry and that he had been drinking.
His lawyer Julia Munster had claimed Maskell was not responsible for Mr Bourke’s death and his actions were “not objectively dangerous”.
“His actions, while shameful, stupid and unlawful … did not cause Mr Bourke’s death,” she said.
A pre-sentence hearing will be heard before Justice Lex Lasry in November.
– AAP
