Geelong Man Kicked to Death for Defecating on Floor

A 55 year old alcoholic was bashed to death in a Geelong hotel.

Crime:  Murder / manslaughter

Occurred:  Sunday, 2 October 2011

Where:  Sir Charles Hotham Hotel, Geelong

Convicted #1:  Bradley James Walters (murder)

Sentenced:  7 December 2012

Convicted #2: Brett Ross Drummond (manslaughter)
Sentenced: 13 March 2013

Victim: Edwin Singer

What happened?

Bradley, Brett and Edwin were residents at the Sir Charles Hotham Hotel in Geelong.  Bradley and Edwin were unemployed alcoholics.  Brett worked in a local factory and also drank heavily.

Bradley and Brett were friends with the hotel cleaner, who had complained for some time about Edwin's habit of defecating in public areas of the hotel.  Over a number of incidents she discovered faeces on the carpet and sheets in his room, in the foyer, out on the street and in the bathroom.  Hotel residents, including Bradley and Brett, were growing increasingly upset at this behaviour.

On the Saturday before his death, a large smear of faeces appeared on the hallway carpet outside the bathroom door.  A trail of footsteps led back to Edwin's room.

Bradley confronted Edwin and told him he had a day to clean up the mess, but Edwin denied responsibility.

On Sunday, Bradley drank five to six litres of cask wine before intercepting Edwin on his way to the bathroom.  Bradley punched Edwin until he was on the floor and then kicked him repeatedly with his steel capped boots.

Bradley returned to his drinking while Edwin crawled back to his bedroom.  At various points in the evening Bradley returned to continue his assault on Edwin, at one stage accompanied by Brett, who also joined in the beating and who had consumed at least ten beers.

Later in the evening, the men dragged Edwin out to the fire escape.  He was either dead at the time or died soon after while he was at this location.  The men later dumped Edwin's corpse in a driveway neighbouring the hotel.

Victims' background

Edwin Singer (source)

Edwin, who was 55 years old at the time of his death and suffering from emphysema, died from blunt force trauma and sustained a number of injuries including a fractured nose, sternum and 27 rib fractures.  He is survived by a sister, a daughter and a step daughter.  His daughter, who was already suffering depression before his death, has deteriorated in mental condition since he was killed and now requires significant care from her step sister.  He was 55 years old when he died.  A year before his death he had participated in a newspaper interview and told journalists that he was a former social worker and had worked at Deakin University, but it is not clear whether this was true.

Convicted #1's background

Bradley was 45 years old at the time of the attack.  Born in Geelong, the middle child of five children and the son of a truck driver and a canteen worker, he did not enjoy a good relationship with his father and began drinking on a daily basis by the age of 17.  He left school at the end of Year 11.  At 22 he left home and fell in and out of employment, ending up mostly working in fruit picking, a lifestyle that enabled him to continue to drink heavily.

By the age of 27 Bradley had two children to another alcoholic, Pauline.  The couple were unable to look after their children and when the kids were aged 5 and 7 they were placed into the welfare system and Bradley has not seen them for over 12 years.

The Sir Charles Hotham Hotel (source)

A psychologist who interviewed Bradley for his trial observed that Bradley 'seems to be of the view that alcohol is the only thing that can give his life even the most fleeting sense of meaning'.

Convicted #2's background
Brett was approximately 44 years old at the time of the murder.  Born in Geelong, he was the middle child among six siblings.  His mother and father were both alcoholics and Brett suffered sexual abuse at the hands of two uncles.  By the time he was six years old, all of the children in the family had been placed into alternative care.  Brett spent the rest of his childhood in and out of boys' homes.  He began drinking at 14.  He left school after Year 10 and worked as a factory hand and woodcutter.  A psychologist described that at the time of sentencing Brett was "bordering on frank alcoholism".

Brett has a low IQ.  He has a prior criminal history that includes three assaults, dishonesty and driving offences, and a period of imprisonment.  At the time of the manslaughter he was on a suspended sentence for driving offences.

Outcome of trial

#1:  Bradley confessed what he did to police and was willing to plead guilty to manslaughter, but due to a number of factors (including that he continued to return to Edwin for more beatings throughout the night of the murder, indicating deliberateness), the prosecution pursued a murder charge and the matter proceeded to trial, where Bradley was found guilty by a jury of his peers.

#2:  Similarly, the prosecution pursued a charge of murder against Brett but changed its mind shortly before the sentence was handed down.  Brett pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and no trial was necessary.

Sentence

Bradley was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment before eligible before parole, 20 years maximum.  The judge recognised that Bradley had already served well over a year of his sentence whilst on remand.

You can read more about the crime here and here and the judgement for Bradley here and for Brett here.

The crime scene near where the body was found (source)