A neighbourly disagreement over bin placement spiraled out of control when a mother armed herself with a chainsaw, all while dressed for a party. The incident, recorded on camera, took place on a shared property in Melbourne, Australia.
Background of the Dispute
Jolon, 21, and her neighbour Danielle live on a shared block in Melbourne. Jolon keeps her bins along the side of the communal driveway against the fence line. Danielle, a mother of three, claims this blocks her car access and began leaving notes on the bins.
Jolon told A Current Affair: “We just kept them on the communal area, but they were in line with the fence, so we thought everyone was okay, but she continued sending these notes until one day my mother came home, and she found the bins tipped out on the driveway.”
Cameras were installed at the front unit to catch the bin bandit. Footage soon captured Danielle relocating the bins from the garden bed to Jolon's side.
“I had then woken up to the bins being behind my mother’s car. I had moved them and throughout the day she repetitively did it, we moved them back, and we needed access to the driveway,” Jolon said.
Escalation to Chainsaw
The row escalated when Jolon's family chained the bins to trees along the fence line to prevent removal. Danielle, seen on camera messing with the bins, then marched down the driveway in a party dress and heels, wielding a chainsaw.
Footage aired on Australia's Nine network showed an ugly spat with both women screaming. As Danielle used the chainsaw on the tree trunk near the bin handles, Jolon screamed for her to stop and tried to block her.
“I asked her straight away, ‘Why you cutting down the tree?’ She then proceeded to cut the trees the bins were chained to, not the chains, the trees,” Jolon recounted.
Danielle yelled back: “You’re in my face, move. Move your bin, and we can put the car in. Just move your f**king bins!” Jolon repeatedly asked her to stop.
Police Involvement and Further Tactics
Victoria Police officers arrived and are now investigating the matter. Since the incident, Jolon claims Danielle has used guerrilla tactics, including playing loud music from her car at 3:30 am and placing stereo speakers around her property blaring opera or children's songs on repeat. Popular children's song “Baby Shark” is often used, a tactic reminiscent of sonic torture used in an Oklahoma jail and Guantánamo Bay. Danielle is also blocking access to the garden bed with sandboxes and debris.
