A Melbourne teacher accused of stabbing his school principal has told a court he “mentally snapped” in the moments leading up to the alleged attack.
Kim Ramchen, 37, appeared in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where Magistrate Andrew Waters is expected to deliver a decision.
He is facing charges including intentionally cause injury, assault with a weapon, unlawful assault, and recklessly engaging in conduct that placed a person at risk of serious injury.
Prosecutors told the court the incident unfolded at Keysborough Secondary College on Tuesday afternoon.
Sergeant Christopher Marlow said Dr Ramchen, who had taught at the school for two years, had reportedly learned “through unknown means” that his teaching contract would not be renewed for the following year.
According to the prosecution, Dr Ramchen allegedly left his class shortly after 3pm, took a 4-inch kitchen knife and went to the office of principal Aaron Sykes, where he “immediately began assaulting (Mr Sykes) with the knife”.
Vice principal Matthew Sloan then allegedly found Dr Ramchen holding the blade to Mr Sykes’ throat.
The court heard Mr Sloan pulled the accused off the principal and initiated a lockdown before Dr Ramchen left the area. Minutes later, he allegedly returned armed with a 12-inch knife, which he “held to the face of Sykes” before staff subdued him.
Sergeant Marlow said the principal suffered cuts to his lip and forearm, and was “extremely lucky” not to have been more seriously injured.
He told the court Dr Ramchen made “full admissions” during a police interview, allegedly stating: “I’ve never been so angry in my life,” and that he “wasn’t able to control his emotions”.
The accused was treated in hospital for hand and finger lacerations and discharged in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Defence barrister Abbie Roodenburg argued her client should be granted bail, saying Dr Ramchen had learned his contract would not be renewed “several weeks prior” and had attempted multiple times to raise concerns with school leadership. She said her client described a “tidal wave of emotion” overtaking him.
“He can’t really describe it — he’s never really experienced anything like that before,” she said.
“He can’t explain what happened at this point in time or why it happened and wants to get to the bottom of that.”
The court heard Dr Ramchen told his legal team he had gone to Mr Sykes’ office to discuss his employment but “mentally snapped” after a door was slammed in his face.
Mr Sykes disputes this, maintaining no conversation took place and that he saw Dr Ramchen walk past before returning 30 to 60 seconds later with the knife.
Dr Ramchen’s older brother, Lev Ramchen, gave evidence describing his shock at the allegations. He told the court he took on a parental role at age 19 after their mother vanished and their father later died.
He described their father as a “dominating personality” and said he had a “longstanding suspicion” his brother was autistic.
“I wouldn’t have conceived anything like this was possible and nothing remotely like this had ever happened before,” he said.
The court heard Dr Ramchen has a wife and young son, both of whom are also in shock.
Prosecutors opposed bail, arguing the accused posed an unacceptable risk to the community.
In a letter sent to parents and students, Keysborough assistant principals Richard Hastings and Natalie Fode described the incident as “distressing”, assuring families that “no students were involved in the incident in any way” and that the accused “will not at any stage be back on school grounds”.
“Aaron was assisted by emergency services at the soonest opportunity and taken to hospital,” the letter stated.
“Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said officers arrived quickly and arrested Ramchen on Tuesday afternoon.
“The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries consistent with a stabbing,” they said.
Students reported hiding under desks for as long as 20 minutes during the lockdown.
“We didn’t make a sound. It felt scary … I’m shocked,” one student told the Herald Sun.
The alleged attack comes as the Victorian government recently introduced tougher penalties for knife-related offences, adding three years to jail sentences amid concerns about rising knife violence across the state.
Images: news.com.au
