Mooroopna man sentenced for stomping death at supermarket

The manslaughter charge relates to the death of Mooroopna man Bjorn Delphine, 46, who was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after an assault by Atkinson at Woolworths in Mooroopna on May 22 last year.

Mr Delphine died in hospital on June 5, 2023, from a significant brain injury and a fractured skull.

The court heard Atkinson was upset after he had been told a few weeks earlier that Delphine had naked photos of an underage girl on his phone.

Atkinson approached Mr Delphine when he spotted him in Mooroopna Woolworths about 7.15pm and asked him to come outside to talk.

When Mr Delphine denied the allegations and refused to go outside, Atkinson punched him once in the head and once in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

He then stomped on Mr Delphine’s head twice.

After the attack, Mr Delphine was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and his life support was turned off on June 1, 2023.

He died four days later.

In handing down her sentence, Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said the attack was “relatively brief”; however, she noted two blows came while Mr Delphine was in a vulnerable position on the ground.

Justice Hollingsworth spoke of victim impact statements from Mr Delphine’s mother and two of his sisters.

She said while much of his family had not seen him for several years, “it was clear that he was loved by them”.

“There’s nothing this court can do or say to bring back Mr Delphine, and the sentence (imposed on Atkinson) does not reflect on the value of his life,” Justice Hollingworth said.

Justice Hollingworth spoke in detail of Atkinson’s upbringing, which she described as one “in an environment of extreme family violence and drug use”.

She told how Atkinson’s father had broken his son’s bones, and how Atkinson had also seen his father attack his mother.

Atkinson was removed from the family home at the age of 10, but was abused three times afterwards while still young.

Justice Hollingworth said the extreme violence Atkinson witnessed and experienced in his childhood led to him becoming “pre-occupied with protecting” others later.

She spoke of his childhood, which was “marred by substance abuse and family violence”, and of how this led to his own substance abuse issues from the age of 12.

The court heard Atkinson also had post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, which rendered him more likely to make rushed, impulsive choices in the moment.

He also has a cognitive impairment.

While the prosecutor described the assault as “vigilante justice”, Justice Hollingworth said unlike many cases where that was pre-planned, Atkinson’s offence was “entirely spontaneous”.

She also said police had received four complaints from girls about Mr Delphine’s alleged behaviour in girls’ toilets, and Atkinson was also aware of those allegations.

However, Justice Hollingworth noted Mr Delphine was not charged or convicted of any offences.

“If he had engaged in any unlawful conduct, that was a matter for the police to investigate and, if appropriate, to charge,” Justice Hollingworth said.

“Mr Delphine did not deserve to be attacked or killed.”

However, she noted that with Atkinson’s background, combined with his immaturity and metal health challenges, when he was confronted by someone he believed behaved inappropriately, his “ability to think rationally and control his emotions in the heat of the moment was severely impaired”.

“That explains, but does not excuse your behaviour,” Justice Hollingworth said.

As well as the manslaughter charge, the court also heard that, when arrested, Atkinson had seven sandwich bags with cannabis in them, totalling 51.7g, and that his phone had messages relating to the sale of cannabis.

Atkinson was sentenced to six years in prison.

He will have to serve three years and six months before becoming eligible for parole.

The 378 days he has spent in pre-sentence detention will count as time already served.