I was hit first, says accused
CCTV fails to reveal what sparked knockout blow to grandfather
A MELBOURNE man fought “like a tiger” when Apollo Bay locals set upon him after he knocked out a grandfather 30 years older than him, a Geelong court has heard.
Leonard Betrayhani of Sydenham was confronted after delivering the blow that allegedly caused Steve Morrow’s “severe traumatic brain injuries” on August 6, 2016.
But defence lawyer Len Hartnett told a Geelong County Court jury his client was attacked and injured before he struck the elderly man. Mr Hartnett said his client was de- fending himself when decked Mr Morrow.
Mr Betrayhani’s actions a short time later during an affray at the Comfort Inn Hotel were highlighted by Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore yesterday as proof he was seeking a fight, not protecting himself.
“The accused rips off his shirt; he’s ready to get on with it,” Mr Moore said.
“He’s not cowering, (or) incapacitated … he wants more.”
The jury saw security footage of the affray at the motel during Mr Betrayhani’s trial, but was told there was no vision of the earlier incident, when Mr Morrow was felled he outside the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse.
However, seven witnesses who testified at the trial told the jury they saw the defendant hit Mr Morrow.
Mr Moore dubbed all but one of those witnesses ‘The Apollo Bay Six’, telling the jury in his closing argument yesterday that while there were differences in their stories they had consistently described how Mr Morrow was hurt.
“In the end, six people have said, in effect, the accused king hit Mr Morrow for no apparent reason,” the prosecutor said.
“His (Mr Morrow’s) life has been permanently altered. He won’t be able to fend for himself ever again.”
Mr Betrayhani, now 38, has pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally or recklessly causing serious injury or injury to Mr Morrow, now 68.
The jury heard he also suffered an injury that night — an orbital fracture to his eye socket. Mr Hartnett told the jury they should find there was “no doubt” the injury happened before Mr Morrow was hurt, saying his client was “one-out” against angry locals outside the hotel on McLaren St, where the mood was “chaotic and riotous”.
He said the hit on Mr Morrow needed to be viewed in that context, saying it was likely the defendant was dazed and confused with limited vision or spatial awareness because of the blows he’d taken.
He said the jury should pay more heed to the evidence of the seventh eyewitness, Suzanne Connolly, who was then Mr Betrayhani’s partner.
Although the jury heard she originally told police “I saw Lenny knock him (Mr Morrow) out cold”, the woman’s evidence to the jury was that all she saw was the defendant raising his arm before the victim fell.
She also spoke about the injuries her then-boyfriend suffered in a fight before Mr Morrow was hurt.
Mr Moore cast doubt on Ms Connolly’s evidence, saying the defence was “clutching at straws” with its “absolutely ludicrous” argument that Mr Betrayhani acted in self defence.
The jury is expected to begin its deliberations today.