A terminally ill man who won hearts by ‘courageously’ choosing to die by euthanasia was a career criminal who spent years in prison for a series of brutal attacks – including tying up one victim and threatening another with a knife.
Scott Hollingshed, 58, from Newcastle, made national headlines this week after he decided to end his own life under new New South Wales (NSW) legislation.
He was given a lethal injection on Friday after documenting his battle with stage four lung cancer on Facebook over the past two months. In a moving final video, he urged Australians to “just love each other and be there for each other.”
His plight touched the hearts of his followers, who called him “brave” and “inspirational,” with Australians even paying more than $6,000 to support his cause.
While Hollingshed is seen as ‘inspirational’ by some, Daily Mail Australia reveals that to others he was a violent thug who carried out shocking attacks that left his victims scarred for years.
Over the past forty years, he has been in and out of prison, having been convicted of weapons possession, drug possession, assault, robbery, burglary and traffic violations.
In 1993 he was sentenced to six years in prison – with a minimum term of four and a half years – after committing two armed burglaries in Canberra, which the judge described as ‘extremely serious’.
His first victim *George was watching television in his Braddon home when Hollingshed and two other men broke in on the evening of January 15.
Scott Hollingshed, 58, (pictured) died on Friday under NSW’s new euthanasia laws
The group, disguised in balaclavas, tied him up and stole his wallet, then used his card to withdraw $200 from an ATM to buy cannabis and amphetamines.
“It was horrible. They tied me up with a sarong and tied my hands and legs behind my back with rope,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They threatened to cut off my fingers. I was there [like that] for one hour.’
According to George, it appeared that the group was on drugs at the time. He bizarrely ripped his two phones off the wall and put them in the oven before turning the phone on.
After they fled with his belongings, he managed to spit out the wad and scream for help, alerting the neighbors, who came to his aid.
Although he was largely unharmed physically (he suffered only some bruising around his neck and head), George said the attack left him traumatized for years.
“For a while after that, I couldn’t travel on public transportation. I was nervous walking everywhere. I didn’t feel safe,” he said.
Two days later, Hollingshed and another colleague were searching for new victims in Glebe Park, where they spotted 18-year-old law student Danyel Kynaston sitting on a bench with his girlfriend in the early hours of January 17.
Hollingshed approached Mr Kynaston with a knife, put the weapon to his throat and demanded he hand over his wallet, which contained his bank cards and driving licence – including personal details such as his home address.
“They took my debit card and said, ‘We have your address and we will come and find you if you don’t give us the correct PIN,’” Mr Kynaston told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I gave them a fake PIN code and the ATM swallowed my card. The police were able to take their fingerprints from the ATM and they were arrested.’
The night of the attack, Mr Kynaston had his first date with his wife, with whom he is still together to this day.
Danyel Kynaston is pictured with his wife in the 1990s, around the time they were attacked by Hollingshed
The couple were in Glebe Park, Canberra, when they were approached by Hollingshed and another man
Hollingshed spent his adult life in and out of prison for a string of crimes
Fortunately, the couple was not physically injured or traumatized by the attack.
“Luckily it didn’t have any psychological consequences for us,” he said.
“We were young and didn’t realize the danger we were in. It was an interesting story about a first date. Thirty-one years later, we’re still married.”
A few months after the robbery, Hollingshed, who was on parole at the time of the attacks, pleaded guilty to burglary, theft and making a demand with the threat of grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to prison.
During the High Court proceedings, Chief Justice Jeffrey Miles noted that Hollingshed had previous convictions, dating back to 1984, for two burglaries, two assaults and theft.
He said Hollingshed had only been released from Cooma Prison in July 1992 and had moved in with a married couple. However, he had to move to the ACT on parole after having an illicit relationship with the woman.
He also noted that Hollingshed, who has struggled with drug addiction since leaving school, “had numerous opportunities to respond positively to counselling and treatment over a number of years but has thus far been unable to do so”.
After his release from prison in the late 1990s, Hollingshed fell further and further into the dark lane.
In 2010, former police officer Darren Pickavance filed a workers compensation claim against the New South Wales government after developing PTSD in the line of duty. An encounter with Hollingshed was among the traumatic experiences that contributed to his condition.
In the statement, Pickavance described Hollingshed as a “distant-looking man and drug dealer” who was “a gun enthusiast” and had previous convictions for possessing and using weapons to commit violent crimes.
He said he was traumatised by his involvement in tracking down and arresting Hollingshed in 2003, who was wanted after holding a sawn-off shotgun to a man’s head and making threats.
“All the cars in the area were looking for him. I had radioed that I knew the perpetrator and that he would shoot to avoid being caught,” the claim reads.
‘As I was driving through Cardiff South I saw Hollingshed in a phone box outside the butcher’s shop.
“I knew he was armed. He hadn’t seen me, so I drove on, radioed in, and started setting up a perimeter, keeping an eye on the assailant.
‘Then I saw a police car skid and end up in a hole in front of the phone box. He jumped out of the car and ran 10 metres to arrest Hollingshed.
“It was the longest 10 meters in history. I was too far away to help. My anxiety level during this whole incident was extreme. I had chest pains, a racing heart and started sweating.
‘This incident has made a deep impression on me.’
Hollingshed documented his cancer journey online and said he hoped his story would be an inspiration to others to live life to the fullest and turn negatives into positives.
After decades in and out of prison, he had just purchased a yacht with his partner when he began experiencing chest pains that led to a diagnosis of lung cancer.
Further court documents obtained by Daily Mail Australia show that Hollingshed continued to commit crimes until 2020, including a 2016 prison sentence for motoring offences.
Until recently he lived on a yacht with his partner Kat, until he was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago.
Since his death, hundreds of Australians have taken to his social media page to praise him for his “courage” and “bravery”.
“Rest in peace, a brave man who began his new journey on his own terms,” someone said.
Another wrote: ‘Rest in peace my brother, I’m going to miss your daily messages. Fly high bro, you’re an inspiration.’
Others who seemed to know Hollingshed, however, were unimpressed by the story of his death. One woman even claimed he was a “woman hater.”
“Karma has finally come to get you,” another woman wrote on Facebook.
“You got everything you deserved.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities