A grandmother is accused of kicking a suspected child-burner in the face while her killer son choked the man unconscious.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Danny Klobucar, 34, of Wanniassa, was previously jailed for choking the man, whom he suspected of burning a child with a lit cigarette.
Marie-Solvy Leclair, Klobucar's mother, faced the first day of a hearing in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday for her alleged role in the vigilante attack.
She has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.
This was not Klobucar's first foray into vigilantism. In 2014, he fatally bashed 71-year-old Miodrag Gajic after forming the irrational belief the frail Phillip resident was a paedophile.
He was suffering at the time from paranoid schizophrenia, which resulted him in being acquitted of murder on mental impairment grounds.
On Monday, a prosecutor told the court Leclair and Klobucar had arrived at the victim's Conder home in May 2022 to confront the man.
The court previously heard the victim had insisted the suspected burn was in fact ringworm.
The mother and son took the man to a room, where Leclair allegedly punched him in the face.
Klobucar then choked the man to the point he lost consciousness and defecated himself.
Leclair is accused of kicking the man in the face as this occurred.
The victim later went to Canberra Hospital, where medical staff called police and reported the incident.
READ ALSO:
Counsel for Leclair, Dean Ager, argued his client did not punch or kick the man at any time, and "couldn't have caused his injuries".
"[The court would find it hard to believe] that she, a 54-year-old grandmother, punched and kicked [the alleged victim] with enough force to break the skin and cause the bleeding," Mr Ager said.
"[That she was the] aggressor involving a young man significantly larger than her, and who she had not met until that evening."
The man told the court this took him "by surprise" and he thought "OK, this woman means business".
The man stated Leclair had also kicked him twice to the face, after he had been pushed to the ground by Klobucar.
The hearing continues.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram