High-profile Australian media personality who was attacked while walking her dog and was hit in the face, head, and choked says she hopes her assailant receives the assistance he needs.
Shaynna Blaze, a cast member of The Block, spoke out about the terrifying experience after Mark Christopher Surmon, 40, lost an appeal over the harshness of his sentence for the incident in Melbourne in April 2020.
The revelation that competitor Omar Slaimankhel was with alleged drug lord Mostafa Baluch when he took off his ankle monitor and fled, prompting one of Australia’s worst manhunts, rounds off a crazy week for the reality TV program.
Earlier this year, Blaze was walking her border collie Phoenix when she was struck from behind, causing her to fall face down on her chin, according to evidence presented in Victoria’s Country Court.
According to court records, the prominent interior designer yelled as Surmon “attempted to quieten her by wrapping his hand about her face and lips.”
According to the Herald Sun, Detective Senior Constable John Connor called Surmon’s conduct “reprehensible” and said Blaze had “no option to run” or flee.
Blaze, who was violently assaulted while just going about her day, doesn’t know Surmon.
Det Connor said in court that “he applied pressure on her shoulders to hold her down when this transpired.”
“The victim was attacked while walking her dog.” Community members should have a right to feel secure when engaging in this.
Blaze spoke in court and gave the jury two victim impact statements that described the continuing impacts of the assault on her.
When Surmon was found guilty of illegal assault in April and given a sentence of 100 days in prison, the court noted the “severe and protracted effect on the victim.”
After promptly appealing the verdict, he was subsequently released on bond.
Earlier this month, Surmon’s appeal was denied; as a result, he must now serve the whole 100-day sentence.
Additionally, he was given a community corrections order with requirements for drug and mental health treatment as well as attendance at an offender behavior program.
In court, Surmon’s attorneys alleged that his schizophrenia contributed to the assault.
Blaze, who helped form the anti-family violence organization Voice of Change, expressed her satisfaction with the court case’s outcome and the term given to her assailant.
Punishment and rehabilitation are both crucial levers for our society in order to deter crimes like these, she added.
So that this doesn’t happen to anybody else, I hope he receives the assistance he needs.
After announcing her separation from her personal trainer spouse Steve Vaughan in 2018 after 18 years of marriage, Blaze, 59, has had a difficult few years. She was married again.
At the time, she commented, “Our pathways shift directions sometimes in life.”
“Our paths alter in life sometimes, and now that Steve and I are parting ways, this is one of those moments for me.”
Jesse Thomas, Blaze’s son, and Carly Anne, her daughter, are both children of her previous spouse.
She raised $300,000 for her charity Voice of Change after winning the Celebrity Apprentice Australia season from the previous year.
Before co-founding Voice for Change, the TV personality lent her voice to a variety of organizations fighting family abuse in Australia.
The nonprofit organization seeks to alter the social norms and cultural precepts that support marital violence.
Blaze, who has been a judge on The Block since 2012, recently made a comeback on Channel Nine screens.