Vinzent Tarantino ‘drank too much’ prior to altercation in Sydney’s inner west
The man acquitted of murdering Sydney schoolgirl Quanne Diec said he drank two and a half bottles of scotch with a man before the pair got into an altercation on Wednesday night, resulting in a three-hour stand-off with police.
Emergency services were called to a unit in Canada Bay in Sydney’s inner west following reports Vinzent Tarantino had allegedly assaulted his partner Michelle Kovacs, 48, and a friend of hers, Henry Pisaturo, 58, at 1.45am.
Vinzent Tarantino is facing court over the alleged altercation of a man and a woman on Wednesday. Credit:Laura Chung
The pair left the unit and were treated for minor facial injuries by paramedics, while Mr Tarantino remained inside the Regatta Road unit.
Offices from Burwood Police Area Command attended and were later joined by the Tactical Operations Unit following concerns Mr Tarantino may be armed.
Three hours later, Mr Tarantino opened the door to the unit and was arrested. Officers searched the unit and seized two swords and 15 knives.
Mr Tarantino was taken to Burwood Police Station, where he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.
He appeared before Burwood Local Court on Thursday where his lawyer, Charles Abbott, told the court alcohol had been involved in the incident.
The matter will next be heard on January 28. Mr Tarantino will remain on bail.
Mr Tarantino told reporters outside court, the incident followed an “organised dinner” which involved the drinking of “two-and-a-half bottles ... of scotch”.
“Me and him drunk too much, we had an altercation and she tried to separate us. That was it,” he said. “Me and the guy were having an altercation, she [Ms Kovacs] jumped in the way.”
He added he doesn’t drink, but the stress of several relatives’ illnesses, including his father and uncle, may have been the cause.
“My uncle, who I love, is very seriously ill at the moment. The guy’s father - the same thing is happening with him at the moment. I had never met him and I thought to be sociable to have a few drinks. And we got carried away, that was it,” Mr Tarantino said outside court.
He added the samurai swords were in the unit “because I did a lot of martial arts”.
“The other stuff, I collect ... Nothing there was illegal,” he said.
Last year, Mr Tarantino stood trial for the abduction and murder of Diec in 1998 and was found not guilty.
The schoolgirl was plucked off a Granville street on July 27, 1998, just minutes after she left home to catch the train to Strathfield Girls High School.
CCTV footage showed her being followed by a shadowy figure as she walked past an Australia Post sorting centre 400 metres from her home. She never made it to the other end of the sorting facility.
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Laura is a crime reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.