Man used victim’s phone to admit he went ‘overboard’ after humiliating Aussie surfer before killing him in ‘brutal attack’
An Australian surfer was forced to strip naked in a series of humiliating acts before he was killed over a dispute over around $50, a court has heard.
Her killer continued to use her phone for months after the “brutal” attack and admitted he “went overboard” and took someone’s life.
Jayson Brett Dal Molin has admitted causing the death of surfer Guy Haymes at a flat in Manly on Sydey’s north beaches in 2024 after he became “stuck” with $50 he claimed the surfer had stolen from him.
Judge Jennie Girdham SC told the NSW District Court on Wednesday that Mr Haymes, 59, went to his flat to buy cannabis and Dal Molin, then 41, locked the door and stood by the front door saying: “No one is leaving until I get my money.”
He demanded that the elderly man, who weighed just 49kg and had a number of health problems, strip naked and then do a handstand while clothed, grabbing her by the ankles and lifting her into the air.
Dal Molin then launched a “brutal attack” on Mr Haymes, striking him repeatedly in the head despite another man in the flat offering his own $50 to stop the attack.
He ignored explanations that the surfer had a heart condition and called for the attack to stop, saying: “I don’t care, he shouldn’t have taken my $50.”
He later told another man in the apartment to make sure Mr Haymes survived because “I beat the c–t” but did not call an ambulance for his victim.
When police arrived to conduct a welfare check, Dal Molin claimed that there was no one in the apartment and that there had been no assault; A short time later paramedics found Mr Haymes under the covers in a bed, with dried blood on his bruised face.
Mr Haymes suffered a serious traumatic brain injury and did not regain consciousness following the attack.
After nearly two weeks in the intensive care unit, he was transferred to palliative care and died just three days later on March 15; His younger brother Mark spoke of having to take on the heartbreaking responsibility of making treatment decisions in a victim impact statement submitted to the court.
Dal Molin pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter last December and was sentenced Wednesday to at least four years in prison for the “brutal” attack.
“Although relatively short in duration, it was a brutal attack in the circumstances,” Judge Girdham said.
Killer used victim’s phone
Dal Molin made multiple confessions about using his victim’s phone to kill someone and “going overboard” for about four months before he was arrested in June, the court heard.
The court was told that Dal Molin was so drunk on the day of the attack that he did not even remember arriving at the flat and had no recollection of the attack or the confessions he made in the following months.
Earlier in court, when asked if he tried to humiliate his victim by taking off her clothes and doing a handstand, he replied: “Apparently so, yes.”
Family ‘disappeared’ after death
Mr. Haymes’ family repeatedly asked themselves, “How do we continue?” he asked. Judge Girdham, outlining victim impact statements, said they were trying to get over their deep pain.
“They were lost, damaged and confused,” Judge Girdham said.
Mr. Haymes’s brother, Mark, “becomes extremely emotional when memories of his brother come back unexpectedly” and fears for the future of the community.
“In a moving tribute to his brother’s memory, he wants society to focus on preventing violence,” Judge Girdham said.
The court heard that Dal Molin, who had only met Mr Haymes that day, did not intend to kill the old man but did intend to injure him.
He is remorseful, writing that he “never thought he’d be the person in front of the court … taking the life of another” in a letter to the court while stating that nothing he says will bring his victim’s life back.
Judge Girdham spoke of Dal Molin’s disadvantaged childhood, mental health conditions and descent into alcoholism and drug addiction.
By 1989 he was drinking every day, which quickly evolved into consuming around two liters of wine and a bottle of spirits a day in his 20s.
He was drinking the same amount of alcohol every day at the time of the attack.
Dal Molin has now been sober for 22 months, the longest period he has abstained from drugs and alcohol, and is close to finishing his probationary culinary internship.
Judge Girdham emphasized the importance of Dal Molin beginning rehabilitation and continuing his medication.
Dal Molin was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for the attack. He will be eligible for parole in March 2029 after completing his non-parole period of four years and nine months.
