Drunk groom beats his future brother-in-law with an IRON just hours before his wedding – forcing his furious fiancée to CANCEL the ceremony
- Andrew James Spice, 54, was in New Zealand for his own destination wedding
- After a heated argument, Spice grabbed an iron and hit his future brother-in-law
- He then passed out drunkenly in a hotel hallway, where he was found by police
- Do you know more? Email charlotte.karp@mailonline.com
A destination wedding has ended in disaster after a groom struck his future brother-in-law over the head three times with an iron just hours before he was due to get married.
Andrew James Spice, 54, travelled with a group of family members to Queenstown, New Zealand, from Australia for his wedding last week, Stuff reported.
But what was supposed to be the ‘wedding of the year’ turned south when the Australian man returned to his Novotel hotel room at 3am on Friday heavily intoxicated, the Alexandra District Court heard on Thursday.
Mr Spice then started a heated argument with his wife-to-be, before having a cigarette on the balcony.
A destination wedding has ended in disaster after the groom clobbered his future brother-in-law over the head three times with before passing out in a hotel hallway (stock image)
Shaken by the argument, his fiancee called her brother to the room.
Mr Spice then began aggressively arguing with the siblings, before the brother attempted to pin him to the bed.
After struggling free, the drunk man reached for an iron and struck his future brother-in-law over the head three times.
He was found by police passed out in the hotel hallway, outside the elevator.
Spice was charged with assault with a blunt weapon and the man’s partner cancelled the wedding.
Defence counsel Tanya Surrey said her client made a ‘serious error of judgement’.
‘He accepts it was a serious error of judgement and he’s sorry for causing distress to his wife and family – he has paid the price in more ways than one,’ she said, referencing the thousands of dollars lost from cancelling the arranged nuptials.
Judge Dominic Flatley called the man’s drinking ‘out of control’.
‘Here you used an iron and struck the victim in the head three times … This could have gone horribly wrong. You could have seriously injured or at worse killed a person.
‘I am supposed to feel sorry for you because your wedding didn’t go as planned? You brought this on yourself.’
The victim did not sustain lasting injuries, and claimed he was more disappointed with Spice’s behavior towards his sister (stock image)
The victim did not sustain lasting injuries, and claimed he was more disappointed with Spice’s behavior towards his sister.
He was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay an additional $500 to the victim for emotional harm, along with $130 court costs.
In spite of the charges, the couple got married on Wednesday and used two strangers as witnesses.
The maximum penalty for assault with a blunt instrument is five years in jail.