The man, who already has three previous family-violence convictions, is believed to have become enraged after an argument relating to his inheritance.
The court heard that the 53-year-old son grabbed his mother by the hair and dragged her down the hallway of her family home as he punched and kicked her in the face.
The elderly woman’s husband ran to the neighbour’s house to get help as the attack unfolded, and the neighbour told prosecutors that he heard the mother yell, “I am going to die,” as the son lay on top of her.
The defence lawyer revealed that the son was a former legal professional whose life had spiralled out of control. He also alleges that he was sexually abused as a child by a man known to both him and his mother.
The court heard that the man was prone to alcohol abuse, but Prosecutor Lillian James said that the son’s alcohol use should not mitigate the offence, due to three prior instances of family-violence convictions.
“He’s well on notice by this stage that when he consumes alcohol he is prone to unprovoked, inexplicable and fairly extreme violence,” she said.
The son pleaded guilty to assaulting his mother and was sentenced to nine months jail, which will be suspended after six months. This means that it is likely that the son will be released in January 2022.
