Man’s brutal assault on his mother, 65, paused only while she went to the bathroom

The Dunedin District Court heard Simeon McFadyen threw his mother on a bed before biting her on the head and cheek. Photo / Otago Daily Times, File

A Dunedin man who attacked his 65-year-old mother in a fit of punching and biting only paused the attack for her to go to the toilet.

On March 6, Simeon Stephen McFadyen, 30, was “spiralling out of control” in a very violent way, the Dunedin District Court heard last week.

At 2.30pm, McFadyen was in a vehicle with two of his friends when he pulled a knife from his jacket pocket, waving it around and “cutting the air in front of him”, court documents said.

The driver and passenger grew terrified as McFadyen slashed the dashboard and stabbed the side of the seat.

The friends left the vehicle, one choosing not to return.

Deciding to drop McFadyen home, the victim got back in the car and began driving when the defendant grabbed him by the neck.

He held on for about five seconds, the court heard.

Later that evening, McFadyen was distressed and seeking support.

He decided to head to his 65-year-old mother’s home, an address from which he had been trespassed three times before.

He knocked on the door, waking her up. When he asked if he could spend the night, she declined and went back to bed.

McFadyen grew angry.

He smashed the glass pane of the front door, gaining entry into the home. He rushed into his mother’s bedroom and punched her several times. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her on to the bed before biting her on the head and cheek.

During the struggle, the woman told McFadyen she needed to use the toilet, so he released her from his grasp.

The victim ran out the back door, seeking shelter at a neighbouring property as McFadyen left.

The next evening McFadyen headed to a friend’s house, uninvited.

A woman caught him rummaging through kitchen drawers, holding a high-pressure water blaster. When she told him to leave, he became angry and a brief physical altercation ensued.

As he left the address he yelled to the woman, threatening to kill her.

McFadyen was “very remorseful” and accepted he had “lost control and acted in an unacceptable manner”, the court heard.

His mother provided a statement to the court detailing her concern for her son’s mental health while admitting she remembered little from the night in question.

Counsel Alex Bligh detailed the traumatic experiences McFadyen had accumulated over his life.

As a teenager, he had battled a serious cancer diagnosis and suffered “disconnection from his parents, especially his mother”, Bligh said.

“Essentially, we are dealing with trauma upon trauma upon trauma.”

The mother and son had attended a restorative justice meeting and had agreed to try to rebuild the trust in their relationship.

McFadyen was convicted of assault, assault in a family relationship, assault with intent to injure, unlawfully entering a building, and two charges of wilful damage.

“At the end of the day, it is your responsibility to behave in a responsible and mature way,” Judge Jim Large said.

“People are entitled to feel secure in their own home, particularly at night.”

McFadyen was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $960 to cover the door damage.