Kim Ramchen: Man charged after allegedly stabbing principal at Keysborough Secondary College

A teacher accused of stabbing his school’s principal has claimed he “mentally snapped” after a door was slammed in his face, a court has been told.

Kim Ramchen, 37, faced the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning seeking bail. Magistrate Andrew Waters will hand down a decision at 2.30pm.

He is charged with recklessly engage in conduct placing person in danger of serious injury, intentionally cause injury, two counts of unlawful assault and assault with a weapon.

Outlining the allegations, Sergeant Christopher Marlow said Dr Ramchen had worked as a teacher at Keysborough Secondary College for two years, before learning through unknown means that his “teaching contract would not be renewed for the following year”.

It is alleged he left class shortly after 3pm and took a 4-inch knife from the kitchen before making his way to principal Aaron Sykes’ office.

Sergeant Marlow alleged the teacher “immediately began assaulting (Mr Sykes) with the knife” and was found holding the blade to Mr Sykes’ throat by vice principal Matthew Sloan.

It is alleged Mr Sloan pulled Dr Ramchen off the principal and locked down the school when the accused man walked off.

Sergeant Marlow said Mr Sykes suffered cuts to his lip and forearm, and was “extremely lucky” to not have more serious injuries.

Minutes later, it’s alleged Dr Ramchen returned with a 12-inch knife and “held to the face of Sykes” before Mr Sloan and other staff subdued him.

Sergeant Marlow told the court Dr Ramchen allegedly “made full admissions” in his police interview and said he “wasn’t able to control his emotions”.

“I’ve never been so angry in my life,” he allegedly said.

The court was told Dr Ramchen was taken to hospital with lacerations to his hand and fingers, and was released from hospital at 3.30am on Wednesday after eight hours.

Defence barrister Abbie Roodenburg suggested Dr Ramchen had learned his contract would not be renewed “several weeks prior” and had made several attempts to speak to the school’s leadership team about this. Sergeant Marlow said he was not aware of this.

In instructions to his lawyers, Dr Ramchen allegedly said he’d attended Mr Sykes’ office to speak about his ongoing employment but “mentally snapped” after the door was slammed in his face.

The court was told Mr Sykes maintains there was no conversation and he watched Dr Ramchen walk past and allegedly return 30 to 60 seconds later with the knife.

Called to give evidence, Dr Ramchen’s older brother Lev Ramchen said he’d taken on a parental role aged 19 after their mother, Jacqueline Ramchen, vanished and their father later died.

Mr Ramchen described their dad Slavik Ramchen, who was once a suspect in his wife’s 1992 disappearance, as a “dominating personality” and a “hard taskmaster”.

He told the court Dr Ramchen was a very bright man, with several degrees including a PhD in cryptographical obfuscation, but he had a “longstanding suspicion” his brother was autistic.

Mr Ramchen said he was “shocked and bewildered” by the allegations.

“I wouldn’t have conceived anything like this was possible and nothing remotely like this had ever happened before,” he said.

The court was told Dr Ramchen had a young son and wife, who was also in a “state of shock”.

Ms Roodenburg argued her client should receive bail, suggesting there were “real indications of mental ill health” that needed to be explored.

She said Dr Ramchen had described a “tidal wave of emotion that came over him”.

“He can’t really describe it - he’s never really experienced anything like that before,” she said.

“He can’t explain what happened at this point in time or why it happened and wants to get to the bottom of that.”

She told the court her client had “no wish or desire to cause any more trouble to the principal” and understood he would not be able to return to the school.

Prosecutors have opposed bail on the basis that Dr Ramchen is an unacceptable risk to the community if released.

In a letter to parents and students overnight, Keysborough assistant principals Richard Hastings and Natalie Fode described the incident as “distressing”.

“Aaron was assisted by emergency services at the soonest opportunity and taken to hospital,” the letter read.

“We have spoken to Aaron and he is recovering well and in good spirits given the circumstances.

“No students were involved in the incident in any way.

“The alleged perpetrator is with police and will not at any stage be back on school grounds.

“As this is currently a police matter, we cannot comment further.

“Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable. We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school.

“We want to assure you that the health and safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority.”

A Victoria Police spokesperson said in a statement that “officers quickly arrived on (the) scene and arrested a man (who) will be interviewed”.

“The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries consistent with a stabbing,” they said.

“At this stage investigators believe the people involved are known to each other.”

Students were reported to have hidden under their desks for up to 20 minutes.

“We didn’t make a sound. It felt scary … I’m shocked,” one told the Herald Sun.

“A couple of minutes after the school bell rang, there was an emergency lockdown announcement.

“All the students and teachers had to get into one room and wait.”

The incident follows the recent introduction of new laws by Premier Jacinta Allan’s government that add three years jail time for knife-related crimes in Victoria, following an influx of recent violent incidents.