WWII dispute led to 83-y-o man's death

A 76-year-old Perth man beat his 83-year-old friend and neighbour to death for
calling his mother a whore during an argument about World War II, the West
Australian Supreme Court has been told.
Tibor Zoltan Mako was sentenced to two years and eight months' jail on a charge of
assault occasioning death after attacking Frenec Nemeth at a public housing unit
complex in North Perth on June 15 last year.
Mako, now 78, had lived at the complex since 1994, while Mr Nemeth had only moved in
shortly before his death, the court heard.
The two became friends because they were both from Hungary, but the relationship
soured when Mako accused Mr Nemeth of deliberately trying to poison him with
chemical sprays in the garden and fly spray around the unit.
As they argued in Mako's unit about the war, Mr Nemeth punched Mako in the face,
calling his mother a whore, the court was told.
Mako, who has lived in Australia since 1973, said that calling someone's mother a
whore was an insult of the worst kind in his culture.
He followed Mr Nemeth to his unit and punched him repeatedly in the face with both
fists.
Mako visited police the next day to report the assault and also mentioned that he
had not seen his neighbour since the incident.
Police later found Mr Nemeth dead, covered in a blanket on the couch with blood
smeared on cupboards, floors and doors in his bedroom, bathroom and laundry.
He had suffered lacerations and bruises on his body and face and had a fractured
neck, a spine injury and fractures in his right cheek, nose and jaw.
A post-mortem examination revealed he could have survived for anywhere between half
an hour and several hours after the attack.
Mako had said he did not think Mr Nemeth needed medical attention because he was
still moving, and he denied moving him to the couch.
He said he did not intend to kill Mr Nemeth but did want to harm him because he had
called his mother a whore and he thought he was trying to poison him.
Mako, who has no prior criminal history, was hospitalised in 2004 and put on
medication for a delusion disorder, but he did not comply with the medication, the
court heard.
Justice Stephen Hall said Mako had launched a "serious and sustained attack" on Mr
Nemeth "in a blaze of anger" and his victim was incapable of defending himself.
He said he had to consider Mako's age and good character when giving his sentence,
but there was no excuse for his behaviour.
Mako was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and will be eligible for
parole.
He has been in prison since June 2009 and could be out of prison in months.



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