Stan Churilov pleads guilty to bashing on XPT at Galong

A 67-year-old woman sitting opposite him on the south-bound XPT passenger train was reading a book and using a piece of paper to fan herself.

Without warning, the 105kg, 195cm Churilov punched the woman in the face, smashing her reading glasses into one eye and fracturing surrounding bones.

“She tried to electrocute me,” Churilov yelled as he was held down by the victim’s husband and another man.

In Wagga District on Monday, Churilov’s solicitor David Barron produced a psychological report that pieced together the violent outburst and the bizarre comment that followed.

Mr Barron said eight months before the unprovoked assault at Galong on August 19 last year, Churilov’s home was burnt down by fire caused by an electrical fault. The impact of that was Churilov, formerly of Caulfield in Victoria, became homeless and went off his medication.

Mr Barron said Churilov thought the woman was generating electricity by fanning herself. “At least there is an explanation for what happened,” Mr Barron said.

In the words of his mother, read to the court, 30-year-old Churilov becomes a “monster” when not on medication that controls his mental health condition.

Churilov was in court for sentencing submissions after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

His victim underwent reconstructive facial surgery that included inserting metal plates and screws to hold part of her face together.

Crown solicitor John Hall described Churilov’s victim as being vulnerable when she was attacked. “She was simply reading a book and minding her own business,” Mr Hall said.

While framing a sentence for Churilov, Judge Jennifer English discovered a comment in the pre-sentence report that revealed Churilov had a record of violence in Victoria – primarily unprovoked attacks. That forced her to stand sentencing over to Campbelltown District Court on July 20.