Family furious after acquittal of attempted murder in Oz

“I HOPE he rots in hell!”

The angry words of Tom Keohane, speaking of the man who beat his 29-year-old son, David, to within an inch of his life 18 months ago on a deserted street in Sydney, Australia.

For the past week the Keohane family had been hoping that a jury would find Thomas Isaako, 21, guilty of attempted murder. He and an accomplice, who had been drinking together, robbed and beat David, from Ballyvolane in Cork, leaving him for dead on the side of the road.

But shortly after 5am Irish time yesterday, the devastating news came that Isaako had been found not guilty. The only man to be charged with the assault was acquitted of attempted murder at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.

The jury took over a day to deliberate before returning the verdict. They had been told that every bone in Mr Keohane’s face was broken when Isaako beat him to the ground and, together with his accomplice, repeatedly punched him.

Doctors said he was lucky to survive, and initially told his family he probably only had six months to live. Isaako has pleaded guilty to robbery and inflicting grievous bodily harm, but denied intending to kill David Keohane.

When asked why he didn’t call for an ambulance when he saw Mr Keohane bleeding and unconscious on the ground, Isaako told police: “I was just in my own world”.

Speaking outside court, Mr Keohane’s father said he was “very disappointed” with the jury’s verdict.

“I feel that it’s my son who has been given a life sentence for being a great young man,” an emotional Tom Keohane told local reporters.

“So, I just hope the judge comes down hard on this guy (on the lesser charges) ... and I hope he rots in f**king hell.”

Judge Ronald Soloman will hear sentencing submissions for the attack on Friday. Isaako is expected to be sentenced on April 23.

In an emotional victim impact statement, read by David’s sister, Carol, the judge heard how the young Corkman volunteered for Lifeline, a crisis counselling service in Sydney. He also helped children from disadvantaged backgrounds and represented New South Wales in Gaelic football.

Carol told how her brother was in a coma when he arrived back in Ireland, waking up exactly a year ago on St Patrick’s Day at Cork University Hospital. She described his struggle to eat, to use his hands and to learn to do the simplest things all over again. “Life for our family changed in an instant,” she said, “and David lost the life he intended to have”.

At the time of the assault, Mr Keohane ran a successful business as a flooring contractor and was a permanent resident of Australia.

Outside court, Ms Keohane called on the Australian public to help find the second man involved in her brother’s attack. Police have still failed to locate Isaako’s accomplice, New Zealander Kane Desmond Tupuolamaoui, 20.

“There’s still somebody else who hasn’t been caught for this crime and if anybody knows of his whereabouts, they should contact the police,” Ms Keohane said.

In Ireland, David Keohane’s family were devastated by the jury’s decision. His aunt, Joy, described the verdict as “unreal” and said it had come as a great shock to everyone.

“We are all trying to get our heads around it,” she said, adding that the only consolation was that David was continuing to improve and, although still using a wheelchair, was now able to travel to Dublin for rehabilitation.

“The only outcome that matters at the end of the day is that David gets his life back,” she said.

“He will probably never get back to the way he was but the important thing is that he can enjoy a good quality of life.”