Woman gagged, beaten

Ice user’s attack

A WOMAN had her hands tied and mouth covered with duct tape during a frightening ordeal that involved her being repeatedly assaulted inside a Geelong home.

Nicholas Collyer, 31, was in a drug-induced psychosis when he launched the bizarre offending in August last year.

The County Court heard the Norlane man told his victim he was having fun as he bashed her with his fists, as well as a baton and the flat side of a hunting knife.

The terrified woman, who was known to Collyer, was left bleeding and required staples for injuries to her head, while she also sustained black eyes and a fractured nose and rib.

Collyer pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of false imprisonment, recklessly causing serious injury, assault and drug possession.

A prosecution summary of the offending reveals Collyer had injected himself with ice and became paranoid that the victim was someone he did not know.

He punched the woman about 10 times to the head and body, prompting the victim to scream for him to stop.

Collyer then bound the victim’s hands behind her back and covered her mouth with duct tape, before using a baton to strike her head, legs and arms.

He also filled a 2.2L bottle with water and poured it over the victim — including into her mouth — up to 20 times.

Later, the woman convinced Collyer to get out of the house by telling him they should drive to a nearby address. She tried to flee her captor but fell over and was dragged back inside the house.

The summary states Collyer continued to speak with imaginary people until he “suddenly” looked to the victim and said: “What have I done?”

Collyer has been in custody since his arrest several days after the incident.

He told investigators he lost control of his actions and felt like a “passenger” in his own body.

“It’s kind of hard to explain … my mind just broke and I bashed her,” Collyer said. “I remember watching it. Like, I was kind of separate from it.”

The victim was in court for the plea hearing as it was revealed she continued to suffer complications from her injuries.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Brown pushed for a jail term, arguing the drug-induced psychosis should have little or no impact on reducing Collyer’s moral culpability.

“He was well aware the methylamphetamine … could cause psychosis,” Mr Brown said.

Defence barrister Kestin Mildenhall urged the court to consider imposing a corrections order alongside any jail sentence. “Clearly it’s a terrible, horrific event; however, he clearly was not in his right mind,” she said.

Judge Gerard Mullaly remanded Collyer until a further hearing on a date that is yet to be determined.