"Get off, you are going to kill him".
These were the words a mother screamed as her son dealt face "flattening" blows to the man who had tormented them for years.
The attack would land a young man with no criminal history in court, facing serious jail time.
The troubling case rounded out the final 2020 sitting of the Hervey Bay District Court.
There, a 21-year-old had arrived in court alone, placed his backpack on the ground and walked, head down to the dock where he pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and assault.
Crown Prosecutor Michael Gawrych said the defendant had arrived home after drinking and told the 52-year-old victim, who was in a relationship with his mother, that he wanted to fight him.