Man died after physical altercation with neighbour
The physical and emotional stress of a Gold Coast man’s violent confrontation with his neighbour over feeding birds likely played a role in his sudden death minutes later, a court has been told.
Bradley Ward, 60, collapsed and died shortly after fighting with and then being assaulted by his neighbour Trevor Dale Wheeler (pictured) on November 18, 2020.
Southport District Court was told tensions flared between the two men about 5.15am as Wheeler was feeding the birds in the front yard of his Labrador home.
It was heard Mr Ward began filming Wheeler and an argument soon broke out, escalating to a fight with both men shoving and throwing punches.
Crown prosecutor Kelli Lemass said Mr Ward – who was medically obese and suffered from heart disease among other ailments – fell into the gutter during the scuffle and was noticeably short of breath afterwards.
Ms Lemass said Wheeler targeted Mr Ward’s 82-year-old mother as she came to her son’s aid, shoving her to the ground. She was not injured.
Ms Lemass said Wheeler soon re-emerged from his home with a lengthy stick that he swung at Mr Ward six times, connecting only once with the other man’s temple and ear.
Mr Ward collapsed after walking over to a nearby taxi that had stopped to assist.
The court was told his likely cause of death was an arrhythmia precipitated by the emotional and physical stress of his clash with Wheeler.
The 52-year-old was previously charged with manslaughter and was due to stand trial on the charge before it was dropped in November.
Defence barrister Damien Gates, instructed by Hannay Lawyers, said Wheeler had previously spent 31 days in custody on the charges and had no history of violence.
Mr Gates said his client had not dealt with abuse he suffered as a child prior to the assaults.
Wheeler pleaded guilty to unlawful assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and serious assault of a person over 60. He was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, suspended after the 31 days already served.