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Two men have been charged after a gay man suffered slash wounds from allegedly being attacked in his home with a meat cleaver on Mardi Gras day.

The victim, Joseph Stanislav, suffered lacerations to his face after two men attacked him at a unit in Old South Head Road, Bellevue Hills at 2 pm on Saturday 29 February.

Stanislav, who was getting ready for Mardi Gras at the time, told Star Observer that he was attacked after reaching for his phone to show the two perpetrators his bank statements.

The men who attacked Stanislav allegedly called him derogatory slurs and threatened to castrate him while they searched his house for money.

“I felt the cold blade go straight into my forehead, my nose and my eyes,” Stanislav claimed.

“They asked for my money, then one of them went through my men’s carry-bag and my medicine bag. I had $150, and I had a packet of Valium and Endone in my medicine bag,”

“They said ‘you’ve gotta have more money than this. You live in Bellevue Hill’.

“Then one of theme said ‘What’s this? This is makeup you faggot!’

“Then their eyes went black. Both their eyes went black. He [one of the perpetrators] told me to show him my bank statement. I had to reach for my phone to get the statement up, but when I reached for it the guy with the meat-cleaver jumped and smashed me in the face.”

“I had to keep my composure, otherwise these guys were going to kill me. Then one of them held up the knife and said ‘just do as you’re told or we’re going to cut your cock off. We’ll make you into a real girl.”

Officers from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command arrived at the scene and treated Stanislav for slash wounds.


Stanislav was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. A crime scene was established at the Bellevue Property, which was examined by specialist forensic police.

The two men, 18-year-old Jay Ehlrich and 21-year-old Thomas Bowen-Hughes, appeared at Waverley Local Court last Monday. Both men had their bail refused.

Star Observer was initially alerted to the story after receiving messages via Facebook regarding a GoFundMe page. The page included details and graphic images of the victim.

A Facebook friend of Stanislav’s set up the GoFundMe after seeing a post from Stanislav’s account detailing the attack.

Regional Manager of GoFundMe Australia, Nicola Britton confirmed that GoFundMe is aware of the page and that their internal team has verified the campaign.

“The page in question has been verified by our Trust and Safety team during our routine verification processes. GoFundMe is backed by our industry-first guarantee which ensures that all donations reach the right place or are fully refunded.”