A man who used a tree branch to beat a woman to death in a Melbourne park has been found not guilty of murder because of mental impairment.

Henry Hammond, 28, was charged after 25-year-old Courtney (Konstandina) Herron’s body was found underneath branches at Royal Park, in the city’s north, in May last year.

But today, Justice Phillip Priest directed that a verdict of not guilty be recorded in Victoria’s Supreme Court because of Hammond’s mental state at the time of the killing.

For the first time, the horrific circumstances of Ms Herron’s death have been laid bare in a special hearing before the court.

CONTENT WARNING: Readers may find the contents of this report distressing.

In May last year, Ms Herron and Hammond were walking through Royal Park in the early hours of the morning when Hammond picked up a branch.

“Are you going to kill me?” Ms Herron asked him.

Hammond, who was homeless at the time, then struck his victim in the face and beat her to death.

“He was so intense he was grunting. It went on for 50 minutes. Just constant bashing,” said one witness, who was sleeping in the park and whose account was relayed to the court by crown prosecutor Melissa Mahady.

Hammond then tied Ms Herron’s legs together and dragged her body into a clearing where he covered her with branches, before taking her phone and wallet.

Hours earlier Ms Herron, who met Hammond that day, had treated him to dinner before they smoked ice together.

Security footage from the restaurant shows them bantering happily.

When investigators caught up to him the next day, Hammond told them that he had recognised Ms Herron from a past life and that she had been treacherous to his family.

He said he believed she had buried his wife alive and that he had finally gotten his “revenge” on her when a tree branch seemingly fell to the ground.

Detailed psychiatric reports from two doctors have revealed that Hammond was in the grips of schizophrenic relapse at the time of the killing.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects 1 per cent of the population, and is characterised by psychotic symptoms such as delusions and voices.

Hammond has had schizophrenic symptoms since 2017, and continues to have them.

Forensic psychiatrist Rajan Darjee told the court that the delusions would have felt real to Hammond during the episode.

“If he was not suffering from this mental illness, the attack wouldn’t have occurred,” Dr Darjee said.

“He felt that she intended harm to him. He felt that she was interfering with his mind. He felt that she’d been involved in some way in a past life, that she had harmed him.”

He disagreed with suggestions from Ms Herron’s loved ones that Hammond was pretending to be unwell, and said it was “virtually impossible” for him to be faking schizophrenia.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that Mr Hammond is feigning mental illness,” Dr Darjee said.

“I think it would be very unlikely that he would be able to feign these symptoms in various different contexts.

“He has refused treatment and says he is not unwell.”

Dr Darjee also said that Hammond’s condition was not caused by drugs, although they may have worsened it.

“Since he’s stopped taking drugs … he’s remained clearly unwell, despite not taking drugs and despite treatment with antipsychotic medication,” Dr Darjee said.

Hammond has been remanded in custody and will return to court next month.

READ MORE: Courtney Herron’s father demands justice for her brutal murder.

Source: ABC News.

An inner west café owner has been hauled before court for his alleged involvement in a violent brawl involving a baseball bat and machete, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Chris Tziomakis, who formerly owned the beloved Frappe cafes in Earlwood and Concord, allegedly armed himself with the bat while his mate had the blade in the two versus three melee.

He appeared in the Supreme Court last week on charges of affray and armed with intent to commit an indictable offence and was released on bail.

The alleged incident dates back to June 25, the court heard.

The 32-year-old from Bardwell Park allegedly visited a Kogarah business around 2pm and approached a woman with whom he has an unknown history, the court heard.

She “took umbrage” with his presence, the court heard, and told him to “get out of here”, before he returned with verbal abuse.

She then allegedly approached the car and punched Tziomakis, breaking his nose, the court heard.

He left the scene but returned some time later with a baseball bat and a friend armed with a machete, it is alleged.

The court was told the pair confronted the woman, but were soon outnumber two-to-three when the woman’s partner and a male employee arrived.

It is alleged a tussle ensued and Tziomakis lost the baseball bat, before getting beaten with it as he lay on the ground, the court heard.

“It seems that the original female assailant, her partner and employees were able to get the better of Mr Tziomakis,” Justice Stephen Campbell said.

“(He) couldn’t strike a blow with the baseball bat … and it was used against him.”

The court heard his friend with the machete ran off.

All those allegedly involved in the brawl, which was captured on CCTV, have been charged, the court heard, and are before Sutherland Local Court.

His barrister Ben Barrack told the court that although he was armed with a weapon, he didn’t use it, which reduced the seriousness of the offence.

There is “no suggestion he used the baseball bat or threatened violence with the baseball bat,” Mr Barrack said.

He also said he “came off worse” in both confrontations.

Mr Barrack told the court he is expected to plead not guilty to the offences on Wednesday, when his matter returns to Sutherland Local Court.

But Justice Stephen Campbell said instead of calling the police after he was punched in the face, he returned armed.

Tziomakis was granted bail on the condition he move to the regional town of Parkes to live with his cousin and not contact the other persons involved.

*This article was updated.

Source: The Daily Telegraph.

Stavros Konis is frustrated and angry. He does not want to see the restaurant his grandfather bought in 1979 close down on his watch.

Speaking to The ABC, he says his landlord’s tactics during Melbourne’s second lockdown are making it impossible for his business to survive stage 4 restrictions.

“It’s very frustrating for me, because I know I can survive this,” Mr Konis said to The ABC.

“I’ve been in business for a very long time. I’ve got a very successful business. It’d be a shame for me to close this one and relocate somewhere else.

“But I’ll have to if I’m going to survive. I’ll relocate to another place where there’s a different landlord with a smarter approach.”

Salona is a restaurant on Swan Street in Richmond, a once poor, working-class suburb in the shadow of the MCG that has evolved into a thriving inner-city icon of Melbourne life.

As Melbourne’s second wave began to bite, Mr Konis said the property manager, Steve Pantelios of Steveway Real Estate, offered him a 50 per cent reduction on the rent from the landlord.

But, he said, with revenue down by 90 per cent there was no way he could pay it.

“You’re trying to drive the business, and rejig from an a la carte restaurant to takeaway, and then you’re getting the wind sucked out of your sails,” Mr Konis said.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Konis said the agency sent him a default notice, along with a $385 administration fee.

“It was a slap in the face,” he said.

“We’ve been here for three generations. My grandfather had this business, my father had the business. We’ve never missed a rent payment.

“It would make sense if there was another 10 of me willing to jump into my shoes and open a small business here. But unfortunately, that’s not going to happen,” he said.

Sourced By: ABC