Gay man suffers broken neck, severed spinal cord and horrific burns after ‘he was thrown off bridge by married man he rejected’
Maioha Tokotaua, 33, claims husband Joth Wilson, 25, was deliberately targeted in savage attack during trip to Australia
A GAY man found underneath a bridge with horrific injuries was thrown off it in a deliberate attack, his partner has claimed.
Joth Wilson, 25, was discovered under a train bridge in the early hours of New Year’s Day in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.
The native Kiwi was left with a broken neck, back, four broken ribs, a brain haemorrhage, a severed spinal cord and shocking burns over almost half his body.
He is currently on life support at an unnamed Brisbane hospital after plummeting 26ft from the walkway and is unlikely to ever walk again, according to the .
And Joth’s husband Maioha Tokotaua, 33, has now revealed he thinks his partner was deliberately targeted by someone he knew.
He told of his belief that Joth was thrown from the bridge by a man with a wife and kids who he had previously knocked back.
Maioha said: “There were these guys who had been harassing us for some time after one of them, who is married with children, made an advance that Joth rejected.
“There's no money involved, no drugs, no debt – there's just no motive for the attack other than they were intimidated that we might tell their families.”
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Maioha found his hubby unconscious after he popped out just before midnight on New Year’s Eve but didn’t return.
Joth went to the shop to buy one last pack of cigarettes so the pair could have a final smoke before quitting for the New Year.
When he failed to come back from what should have been a short trip, Maioha became worried and went looking for him.
After two hours of searching the streets, he was shocked to find his “mangled” partner at 2am lying motionless beneath the bridge.
Maioha told how his wallet and hat were missing, suggesting to him that Joth had not fallen or tried to kill himself.
He also claimed burns to his partner’s face and body – which cops said were likely caused by falling onto electrical wires above the train track – came from something more sinister.
He said he believed at least some of them came from some kind of flammable liquid which had been poured onto him before setting him alight.
“It was a gay hate crime,” Maioha said.
The couple – who had been visiting family and travelling along the Australian coast during a trip from Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island – have three adopted kids and fostered 15 others over the years.
They had been due to go home next week to be with their children, but Maioha says doctors have told him not to expect much progress over the next couple of weeks.
Queensland Police are probing the shocking incident but have not yet made any arrests.
Detective Senior Sergeant Lindsay said: “We are trying to work out the circumstances as to him being at the bottom of the bridge.
“The investigation of a third party being involved is still being investigated.”
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