Man hits father, who later dies, but judge tells son ‘you didn’t cause that’

Noel Cashmore Sr was a popular barman at the old Albert Hotel in Hastings, which was demolished in 2014. Photo / Warren Buckland

A judge has reassured a man he should not feel responsible for his father’s death, which occurred less than three weeks after the son assaulted him.

Noel Colin Cashmore, 46, appeared in the Hastings District Court on Thursday for sentencing on a single charge of assault with intent to injure.

The victim was his late father, Noel Charles Cashmore, who was 79 when he died.

After his death, Noel Cashmore Sr was remembered in online tributes as a “true gentleman” and a popular barman at the old Albert Hotel in Hastings, which was demolished in 2014.

He was assaulted by his son on January 15, 2022 and died in hospital 16 days later, on February 1.

Defence counsel Sheila Cameron said Cashmore Jr had been “beating himself up terribly” for the events leading up to his father’s death.

A police summary of facts said that during an argument at their shared home, the son “whacked” the father twice to the head, causing a small laceration above his eye.

Cashmore Jr has had his left arm amputated below the elbow. The summary of facts said that after hitting his father on the head, the son struck him in the rib area with his stump.

Relatives who called round some days later found Cashmore Sr struggling to breathe. He was taken to hospital, where it was found he had three broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

However, the police summary of facts said that the older man’s death was not attributable to the injuries caused by the assault.

“It wasn’t caused by you. It was due to something else,” Judge Bridget Mackintosh told Cashmore Jr when he appeared in court.

“You’re taking on the whole blame for the death and the situation. Others are blaming you too … [but] you didn’t cause that,” she said.

Judge Mackintosh sentenced Cashmore to 12 months of intensive supervision.