A teacher accused of stabbing a principal at Keysborough Secondary College has told police he “mentally snapped” and wanted to “completely incapacitate” his alleged victim, a court has heard.
Kim Ramchen, 37, of Mulgrave, was refused bail at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 3 December on charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury and intentionally causing injury.
In recent weeks, Ramchen, a husband and father with a $3700-a-month mortgage, had learnt his contract at the school would not be renewed, the court heard.
Police told the hearing that Ramchen allegedly walked from his classroom, armed himself with a kitchen knife and attacked principal Aaron Sykes in Sykes’s office about 3pm.
He allegedly kneeled on top of Sykes, holding a knife to the principal’s throat, before being dragged away by assistant principal Matthew Sloan, according to police.
As the school was placed in lockdown, Ramchen returned and wielded a larger knife near Sykes’ face, the court heard.
Sloan, and several other staff, allegedly disarmed and pinned Ramchen to the ground.
Sykes was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds, including to his forearm. The injuries weren’t deemed serious, police said.
Sloan and Ramchen received minor injuries.
Police remand officer Leading Senior Constable Chris Marlowe told the court Ramchen was arrested and taken to Dandenong Hospital.
After being monitored for an elevated heart rate, he was released at 3.30am and interviewed by police.
During the interview, he told police he got “enraged” and “mentally snapped” when Sykes dismissed him, Marlowe said.
Ramchen allegedly told police he couldn’t remember the assaults, but he had wanted to “completely incapacitate the principal”.
“I’ve never been so angry in my life,” Ramchen allegedly said – adding that he’d got “incredibly violent”, was unable to control his emotions and it was fortunate that other staff stopped his attacks.
Defence lawyer Abbie Roodenburg told the court that Ramchen had attempted several times to meet with school leaders to talk about his termination, but had been rebuffed.
On the day in question, he says he went to Sykes’s office but Sykes said he didn’t have time and closed the door in Ramchen’s face.
However, Sykes, in a statement to police, said that there was no such conversation.
He stated he’d seen Ramchen walk past his office door and then the teacher returned to stab him about a minute later.
The court heard Ramchen had lost both parents at an early age. His mother had gone missing about 1992 and his father had succumbed to cancer a decade later.
Older brother Lev – who at 19 had become Ramchen’s guardian – offered a $20,000 surety for his bail.
He was “shocked and bewildered” by the allegations, he told the court.
“I wouldn’t have conceived anything like this was possible. Nothing remotely like this had happened before.”
Lev told the court that Ramchen may have undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. He had arranged a GP appointment the next day to seek a mental health care plan.
Defence lawyer Roodenburg raised issues over the police interview, questioning Ramchen’s lack of sleep and fitness for interview as well as his refusal to have a lawyer present.
Magistrate Andrew Waters found there were compelling reasons for Ramchen’s release but that he was an unacceptable risk to public safety.
He noted Ramchen was highly educated in maths, computer science and engineering, with an excellent work history and no prior criminal offending.
“This incident appears to be completely out of character, a one-off event,” Mr Waters noted.
Mr Waters agreed with the defence that Ramchen could spend longer in remand custody than his ultimate sentence.
It was conceivable – given his possible mental health issues and treatment options – that he would not be sentenced to jail time.
Ramchen was also the primary provider for his family, who would suffer if he was detained.
However, Waters noted Ramchen could not explain why he allegedly attacked Sykes. There was no psychological material to support his alleged mental health issues or detail his level of risk.
His risk of reoffending was “simply unknown”, and if involving a knife, it could easily result in injury and death.
A personal safety intervention order on behalf of Sykes would offer very little protection, Mr Waters said.
“In my view no bail conditions can ameliorate risk to an acceptable level.”
Ramchen was remanded to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 6 January.
