Hunt for burglars

By Jade Lawton
POLICE are still searching for the thugs who nearly killed an unarmed Clyde man with a hammer and assaulted his pregnant daughter in January.
Detectives have released new information in the hopes of finding the criminals, who bashed 59-year-old Dominic Mammone so severely that he still cannot talk clearly and has lost the use of his right arm.
Stacey Mammone, 24, thought friends were mucking around when three men with their faces hidden under clothing walked through an unlocked door in the family’s Ballarto Road home on Saturday, 10 January, about 11.15am.
She realised it wasn’t a joke when she saw her father bashed in the head repeatedly with a hammer and an iron bar.
Ms Mammone, who was 11 weeks pregnant at the time, was then hit across the head with the iron bar.
“Mum came in just as I got thrown on the ground and she thought they were mucking around as well. I told her to stay back, but she came to my side,” Ms Mammone said.
“We had to give them money, we had to go through the house and find them money.”
Ms Mammone said her father was in hospital for months after the attack, coming home around Easter after an operation inserting a steel plate in his shattered skull.
“He is lucky to be alive, and lucky he hasn’t got brain damage,” she said.
The family’s market garden business is suffering without Dominic, who worked full-time in the business before the attack
“Mum has to be with him to help him out of the shower and cut his food for him. Before the attack, he was out at work every day,” Ms Mammone said.
Mr Mammone’s three sons were working overtime to keep the business running, she said.
“He is still in charge of the boys really – we still ask him what can be done and he still has the last say on what happens.
“I’m very disappointed they haven’t been caught yet. I’m sure they wouldn’t like this happening to their parents; my father is still emotional (over the attack),” she said.
Police believe the offenders left the scene in a light coloured Holden Commodore VX or VY model with after-market tail lights.
The first man is described as 182cm tall with a solid build and was wearing a black long-sleeved hooded jumper, jeans and gloves. He was armed with a large knife and his face was covered by the hood of his jumper.
The second man was between 172 and 178cm tall and wearing a black long-sleeved hooded jacket and gloves. He was armed with a hammer and his face was concealed by clothing.
The third man is shorter than the others, has a thin build and was wearing a grey hooded jumper. He was armed with an iron bar and also had the hood of his jumper pulled low over his face.
“Clyde is a small town, people talk and hopefully someone has heard something and knows who did this,” Ms Mammone said.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000