An elderly man who shot himself in the stomach after firing twice at a sex worker he believed he was in a relationship with, has been told he's likely to go to jail.
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Domenico Natale, 89, said after the shooting outside Brunswick's Romantics Brothel that "she f***ing destroyed me".
He was a regular visitor to the woman and out of what she believed was kindness towards a lonely old man, she began to visit him at home, though not providing services.
Prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams told a Supreme Court plea hearing on Friday that Natale started booking her first appointment of the day and would initially meet her outside the brothel, later meeting her at a tram stop and walking with her to work.
When the woman returned from a year-long break, Natale continued to visit her and would tell her about other brothels he'd been to.
"She believes he thought she was his girlfriend, not his client," Mr McWilliams said.
One day in the lead-up to the shooting, Natale was asked to leave but became angry, grabbing the woman around the neck, prompting a struggle before he fled.
In the following days, he sent her stalking messages, telling her to "remember you've destroyed my f***ing life" and "I can forget you, I can't forgive you".
On July 21 last year, Natale drove his daughter's car to the brothel and waited for half an hour for the woman to arrive for work.
He removed a shotgun from the car and fired a shot at her from seven metres away, missing her.
He fired a second shot as she ran in the door, striking the entrance, but again missing her.
Natale got back in the car and fled, while women inside called police.
From his car Natale called the woman and when her colleague answered, he told the colleague: "You know what happens when a person falls in love with someone" and "she f***ing destroyed me".
Natale then threatened to shoot the colleague too, before turning the gun on himself and shooting himself in the stomach.
Natale's lawyer Simon Moglia said with home visits and text messages between Natale and the woman in the lead-up to the shooting, the relationship had strayed into "murky territory".
"The relationship between them went beyond the bounds of the purely commercial," he said.
But Mr McWilliams said Natale had disregarded the woman's humanity and treated her as an object.
"His response to her ending of that subjectively romantic relationship is a deeply disturbing one and a deeply concerning one," he said.
Justice Lesley Taylor will sentence Natale in February, warning him prison is "looking like a likely option".
Australian Associated Press
