Man pleads guilty to knocking out childhood friend over pub jokes
Sergio Hans Gonzalez Knust, 37, pleaded guilty to reckless grievous bodily harm.
Gonzalez Knust and his longtime friend were playing pool and drinking at the Cabbage Tree Hotel in Fairy Meadow on January 20 after a wake. The victim made jokes, including a suggestion of a threesome.
Gonzalez Knust told him to shut up and punched him in the face when he made another comment. The victim fell backwards, his eyes rolling back, and hit the ground near a steel umbrella base.
Witnesses said his teeth were damaged and described the sound like "two watermelons cracking together". The victim suffered skull fractures, brain bleeding and bruising, and 16 days of post-traumatic amnesia.
He spent months in hospital on a soft foods diet with ongoing cognitive problems. Gonzalez Knust was arrested the next day and also charged with drug possession.
He appeared from prison via video link and pleaded guilty. Sentencing will be in the District Court in November.
- 16 days of post-traumatic amnesia
- Injury severity
- March 27 from Liverpool Hospital
- Hospital discharge
- October 21 at Wollongong Local Court
- Plea date
Why it mattersThe case shows how a single moment of violence can cause life-altering brain injury and long-term disability.
AustraliaThe case will be sentenced in NSW District Court under assault and drug laws.
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