M1 BASH TWIST
Accused attacker pushed for tougher sentencing after losing young girl
A GOLD Coast man accused of bashing Brock Prime on the side of the M1 appealed for tougher penalties on violent offences last year following the shocking death of his young daughter.
A year to the day of Mr Prime’s alleged assault, Jonathan Lawrence (above) stood on the steps of a Victorian court and told of his “disgust” at the nine-and-a-half-year sentence given to the killer of this three-yearold girl, Bella.
Lawrence, 26, and Jordan Baklas, 27, have been charged with grievous bodily harm over Mr Prime’s assault on Saturday night. A third man, 28, was charged last night.
Mr Prime remains in a coma after he was attacked with a metal bar by a group of people at Yatala about 9.30pm.
BROCK Prime will undergo more scans today to determine whether swelling on his brain had subsided after operations at the weekend.
The concreter, who was in an induced coma in Gold Coast University Hospital late yesterday, will also have a plate put in the leg that was badly broken on Saturday.
The Gold Coast community have rallied around Mr Prime, with $16,690 raised in one day after a gofundme.com page was set up to support the family.
Mr Prime’s mother Donna revealed her 29-year-old son became the family’s major bread-winner last month, working six days a week as a concreter following the death of her husband and Mr Prime’s stepfather, Darren.
“Brock’s been our rock,” the mother of three said.
“He’s been working six days a week so we wouldn’t lose our house because we’ve got younger kids who are at school and uni.”
She also detailed the shocking extent of his head injuries.
“Because he’s already had to take a quarter of his brain, five centimetres of his skull was crushed into his brain with dirt and concrete and stuff so they had to remove all that and clean it out so they know it’s already damaged,” said Ms Prime.
Because the back of Mr Prime’s head was “punctured” by a metal pole, doctors said his brain had become infected.
The wound has been cleaned and Mr Prime is being given antibiotics to treat the infection.
It’s not the first time Mr Prime has been admitted to the intensive care unit.
Family yesterday said Mr Prime was stabbed more than a year ago in an altercation which involved a lover and her former partner.
Mr Prime’s also faced his own emotional trials, training hard and taking part in two boxing bouts following the death of a close friend.
Family said he tattooed the phrase “Brothers in Arms” across his chest as a tribute to his friend.