An elderly veteran living in a retirement village has described lying bleeding in the carpark of the Manunda facility, begging for help after he was allegedly brutally bashed and “hysterically” laughed at by a neighbour. Wayne Maxwell Campbell, 73, spent a week in Cairns Hospital’s intensive care unit and the Cairns District Court heard he would likely have died from his multiple injuries if they had not been treated, following the alleged assault at the hands of fellow veteran Robert Glenn Speakman, 73, in the Warhaven complex where they both lived. Mr Speakman has pleaded not guilty to grievous bodily harm. On the opening day of the trial on Monday, the court heard it was alleged Mr Campbell was repeatedly kicked, punched and kneed during the July 3, 2018 attack and suffered multiple broken ribs, along with other injuries. Crown prosecutor Tegan Grasso said it was only when Mr Campbell said “I’ve had enough, you’re going to kill me”, that Mr Speakman allegedly briefly stopped the attack, but returned to kick him as he tried to stand. “He could barely breathe, he was in agony and he was bleeding from the face,” she said. Ms Grasso told the court another resident who witnessed at least part of the alleged assault then saw Mr Speakman “laugh quite hysterically” before saying “what a girl, what a girl”. In a prerecorded interview played to the court, Mr Campbell said the pair had known each other for several years but did not get on and at the time of the alleged assault they were not speaking. He told the court on the day of the incident Mr Speakman approached him and “looked drunk”. “He asked me if I wanted to fight you old c***,” he said. “I was stunned. I told him to go away and go home.” He said after the alleged assault he was dizzy, sick and struggling to breathe as Mr Speakman called him “an old woman, old bastard”. He managed to get back to his unit, where he collapsed on the lounge room floor. “I realised I was covered in blood,” he said. “I had to get up, I’m not going to die here lying on the floor.” Mr Campbell said he managed to walk next door and ask a neighbour to call for an ambulance. Defence barrister James Sheridan asked Mr Campbell whether he was the “aggressor” in the fight, which he denied. Mr Sheridan also named three other people it was alleged Mr Campbell had previously had disputes with, which he also denied. The trial continues.
