An 84-year-old man who repeatedly stabbed a fellow nursing home resident in the face was found moments later eating ice cream and drinking coffee and told staff to call the police, a court has heard. Guy Joseph Wohrnitz, 84, faced the Brisbane Supreme Court today where he pleaded guilty to performing a malicious act with intent when he stabbed his elderly victim in June 2015 at the Sandgate nursing home where they both lived. Crown Prosecutor Noel Needham said on the day before the stabbing, Wohrnitz and his victim had been involved in an incident of a “violent nature” and the complainant had struck the defendant causing skin tears to his arms and hands “On the offence date the complainant and defendant were under a greater deal of scrutiny by the nursing staff, however coming up towards midday (they) were sitting among other residents in the hall there was some kind of verbal altercation just after midday,” Mr Needham said. “And the defendant was seen what was described as throwing punches at the complainant’s face only he was armed at the time with a knife. “The defendant appeared to be very agitated and angry and he walked away after having struck the complainant a number of times.” The victim suffered lacerations to his cheeks and his nose in the incident. “The defendant made his way away from the scene but still within the facility,” Mr Needham said. “He was found sitting in a table eating ice cream and drinking coffee, he told staff to call police, he was happy to go. “He said he had hit the defendant and if he saw him again he would kill him.” Wohrnitz was unsteady on his feet during his court appearance and required a walker to move around the room. Defence Barrister Douglas Wilson said Wohrnitz, who is now 84 and who was 79 at the time of the offending, was a former locomotive driver who had emigrated from Mauritius in the 1950s. He said Wohrnitz had a number of health conditions, required a pacemaker and his cognitive function had been assessed as extremely low. Wohrnitz served 220 days behind bars when he was first arrested. He was today sentenced to five years imprisonment suspended after 220 days which has already been served.
