A 30 year old man removed from The XPT Train at Harden has pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Stan Churilov had stopped taking medication that kept his chronic paranoid schizophrenia under control. A 67-year-old woman sitting near him on the south-bound XPT passenger train was reading a book and using a piece of paper to fan herself.
Without warning Churilov punched the woman in the face, smashing her reading glasses and fracturing bones in her face.
“She tried to electrocute me,” Churilov yelled as he was held down by the victim’s husband and another passenger on the train.
Churilov’s solicitor David Barron produced a psychological report that told of the violent outburst and the strange comments that ensued.
Mr Barron said eight months before the assault at Galong in August last year, Churilov’s home was burnt down by fire caused by an electrical faults. The impact of that was Churilov, formerly of Caulfield in Victoria, became homeless and went off his medication. Mr Barron said Churilov thought the woman was generating electricity by fanning herself.
His victim underwent reconstructive facial surgery that included inserting metal plates and screws to hold part of her face together.
The Crown solicitor described Churilov’s victim as being vulnerable when she was attacked. “She was simply reading a book and minding her own business,” he said.
While framing a sentence for Churilov, the Judge discovered a comment in the pre-sentence report that revealed Churilov had a record of violence in Victoria – primarily unprovoked attacks. That forced her to stand sentencing over to Campbelltown District Court on July 20.
