The man accused of deliberately running down Helen Haines in his four-wheel-drive lived among piles of discarded booze bottles and rubbish in an overgrown shack fit for snakes.
asserted
man → accuse → snakes
Brendan Nugent, 43, was arrested outside the independent northern Victorian MP's office on Murphy St in Wangaratta on Monday after allegedly ramming the 65-year-old against another vehicle twice as she retrieved items from her car boot.
uncertain
she → arrest → boot
Dr Haines suffered catastrophic injuries in the alleged attack and was airlifted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where she underwent emergency surgery.
asserted
she → suffer → surgery
It has since been confirmed the Member for Indi has lost one leg and remains in a critical condition as surgeons try to save the other.
asserted
surgeons → confirm → other
On Tuesday night, Nugent was charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.
asserted
Nugent → charge → official
Earlier on Tuesday, the Daily Mail visited the cesspit block Nugent called home on the outskirts of Tarrawingee, north-east Victoria.
asserted
Nugent → visit → Tarrawingee
It is a township of little more than 400 people, with most appearing from the outside to live among well maintained households.
asserted
most → appear → households
The community is so small it does not even have a general store, with a coffee van parking just down the road from Nugent's ramshackle premises for a couple of hours a day before moving on.
asserted
van → have → hours
Nugent's overgrown home was guarded by police who blocked the driveway throughout most of Tuesday
Brendan Nugent (pictured centre) allegedly terrorised his neighbours for years, threatening residents and even running over a family dog.
The overgrown and dilapidated shack where accused attacker Nugent lived alone
Just around the corner from the unkempt property there is an historic country pub located at the gateway to Victoria's High Country called the Plough Inn.
uncertain
Nugent → guard → Country
The immaculate white building wouldn't appear out of place in the exclusive leafy inner-Melbourne suburb of Toorak, a world away from the quiet, remote hamlet where it sits.
asserted
it → appear → hamlet
But, not far away, hidden off the road next door to a clearly house-proud neighbour, lies the once-dirty secret of this close-knit community.
asserted
secret → hide → community
Guests at Nugent's property – though neighbours said he had none for years – would have been welcomed by a sea of rubbish alongside a 1990s style stereo placed under the crumbling structure's verandah.
asserted
he → say → verandah
It sits next to three shovels, an old fridge, a filthy couch, camping chairs and a large box of empty Rivet-branded beer cans, an Aldi beer of choice for thrifty booze hounds.
asserted
It → sit → hounds
The 43-year-old appeared to also have a taste for South Australian staple Coopers, with bottles of the Pale Ale mixed among the bargain specials.
asserted
old → appear → specials
The signs of Nugent's green thumb are also visible throughout the area, with seedlings taking root from plastic pots scattered around the property.
asserted
seedlings → take → property
Neighbours have suggested Nugent's one passion of horticulture was focused on the art of growing cannabis, although any plants he might have been growing there seemed to have already been confiscated by police.
uncertain
he → suggest → police
A messy shed located near the main house contained a large collection of whisky bottles next to fruit juice containers
A stone's throw from the main home there appears to sit a man cave – an open shed littered with even more empty beer bottles.
asserted
shed → locate → bottles
Daily Mail counted at least two dozen empty bottles of the second-largest-selling brand of Irish whiskey in the world: Tullamore Dew.
asserted
Mail → count → world
At $63 a pop, even from the wallet-watchers' shop of choice Dan Murphy's, the drop is expensive and unemployed Nugent appeared to be knocking it back with various fruit juices.
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Nugent → appear → juices
Discarded empty bottles of apple, grape and pineapple juice were dumped beside the bottles of the whisky.
asserted
bottles → discard → whisky
Just behind the ramshackle drinking refuge, protected by a snakes' den of long, dry grass, is another open pergola area.
asserted
area → protect → grass
There, a bucket of lime was perched atop a mountain of sawdust alongside some kind of makeshift barbeque.
asserted
bucket → perch → barbeque
On Tuesday, Daily Mail revealed that Nugent had been the subject of repeated police callouts over his alleged volatile behaviour, with neighbours claiming they have lived in fear for years.
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they → reveal → years
Federal MP Helen Haines has lost a leg and remains in a critical condition after an alleged deliberate attack outside her Wangaratta electorate office
Nugent, 43, from nearby Tarrawingee, remains in police custody over the incident.
asserted
Nugent → lose → incident
No charges had been laid as of Tuesday afternoon
asserted
charges → lay → afternoon
Residents described chilling threats, incoherent screaming and an incident in which Nugent allegedly ran over and killed a neighbour's dog.
uncertain
Nugent → describe → dog
'Some of the neighbours have had to take out AVOs against him,' one resident told Daily Mail.
asserted
resident → have → Mail
He was right up in their face and screaming.
asserted
He → scream → face
He threatened to kill one man and he also ran over and killed their dog.
asserted
he → threaten → dog
We live in the middle of nowhere and I still lock my doors because of Brendan.'
asserted
I → live → Brendan
The neighbour, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, claimed Nugent had been taken away by police on numerous occasions and admitted to the Kerferd psychiatric unit at Northeast Health Wangaratta.
asserted
Nugent → want → Wangaratta
She also claimed she had been told by authorities that Nugent suffered from schizophrenia and used marijuana to ease his symptoms.
asserted
Nugent → claim → symptoms
According to the neighbour, police were familiar with Nugent following years of complaints about loud music, screaming and aggressive behaviour.
'
uncertain
police → accord → music
He blasts out heavy metal music night and day, screaming across the whole valley, and that's when we know he is on one and we are careful then.
asserted
we → blast → one
If we come across him, he screams at us and says we are evil.
asserted
we → come → us
The neighbour, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, claimed Nugent (pictured centre) had been taken away by police on numerous occasions
Nugent's neighbours told Daily Mail they have been 'terrified' of him for years
Helen Haines and her husband Phil
'It has got to the point where we have all had to drive our kids up to the school bus because they are scared of him.
'
asserted
they → want → him
The thing is, for the last two months he has been quiet and that's the longest time we have had without the noise and him screaming incoherent rants.'
asserted
him → have → rants
But she said the relative peace ended just days before Nugent was arrested over the attack on Dr Haines.
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Nugent → say → Haines
'Last week, my husband came across him in the bushes and he jumped out yelling, 'Bad things have happened here,' over and over, and we knew we had to watch out again.'
asserted
we → come → bushes
On Monday afternoon, Nugent allegedly drove his white Toyota LandCruiser into Wangaratta, where Dr Haines was retrieving items from the boot of her car outside her electorate office on Murphy Street.
uncertain
Haines → drive → Street
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
