By Ashley Legassic

Man who beat, held former mother-in-law hostage granted appeal

Dec 17, 2018 | 9:57 AM

KAMLOOPS — A man convicted of assaulting his ex mother-in-law while holding her in her home against her will has had his sentence reduced by one month.

Rudolf Atzenberger, 57 at the time of sentencing, will now serve 17 months in prison instead of the 18 months he was sentenced to last year. He was convicted by a jury of assault causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement, breaking and entering, and uttering a threat, all stemming from an incident in October, 2014.

Susan Denison was 74 years old at the time, living alone in a rural area. She’s the mother of Atzenberger’s former wife Leanne Denison, and his former business partner Mark Denison. Significant financial disputes led to the end of Atzenberger’s relationships with Leanne and Mark. A decision by the BC Court of Appeal details the circumstances of the October, 2014 night.

The evening of the incident, Susan went to bed around 10:00 p.m., and was awoken by Atzenberger pulling off the covers of her bed and grabbing her by the hair. He then pushed and shoved her into the living room and into a chair. When she told him to leave, he struck her, told her to shut up and do exactly as he said, according to the decision.

Atzenberger was described as calm, cool and collected during the incident, and didn’t appear angry. Over the next hour or so, he repeatedly attacked the reputation of Susan and her family, repeatedly struck her on the head and face, and many blows landed on her hands as she tried to protect herself. Atzenberger was wearing what she believed at the time were padded gloves, and she later believed they were hockey gloves.

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After many blows to her head, Atzenberger directed Susan to the kitchen table and had her write down dollar amounts related to the breakup of his marriage with her daughter and the breakup of his business relationship with her son, the decision states.

He told her she had until 2:00 p.m. the next day to have her lawyer drop her claim against him. He threatened to burn her house down with her in it if she went to police. During the trial, Atzenberger testified that he believed he was being cheated and lied to, and believed Susan was aggravating the situation.

“He offered an exculpatory version of events that raised no reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury,” according to the decision.

Atzenberger has a history of mental health issues including depression, anxiety and mood swings dating back to the 1990s.

In a report filed in court, the author stated Atzenberger did not accept responsibility or agree with the official circumstances of the offences.

Atzenberger filed the appeal on five grounds including Crown failing to ask for or provide a mental health assessment, time delays, undue hardship, judicial bias and obstruction of justice.

He focused mainly on the lack of mental health assessment and judicial bias. He argued that the sentencing judge, rather than the Crown, should have asked for a mental health assessment, that the judge was biased against him, and that the bias resulted in too harsh of a sentence.

The appeal judge found that the sentencing judge made no error of principle, except for failing to take into account time served in pre-trial custody. This led to a one month reduction on Atzenberger’s sentence.

“In my view, the record clearly shows that the judge was not only unbiased, but also that he was doing his best to ensure that the appellant would have a fair sentencing hearing,” the appeal judge said.

For the full decision, go here.