Calls for former Waverley councillor who attacked elderly woman in her home to be put in jail

Calls for former Waverley councillor and lawyer Sam Einfeld, who attacked an 81-year-old woman in her home in Surry Hills, to be put in jail have reignited.

In April 2022, the 44 year old reportedly rammed his car repeatedly into the elderly woman’s garage door until it buckled. He then slipped underneath and made his way onto her property.

Einfeld repeatedly kicked the woman, Margot Priday, a former family friend, as she lay on the floor, trying to protect herself.

As she hit the ground, her smartwatch called triple-0 automatically. The attack reportedly stopped upon hearing police sirens approaching.

The elderly woman was left with cuts and bruising to her arms and legs, and a fractured finger.

Einfeld was arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station, where it was noted he seemed to be under the influence of drugs.

The attacker remained in custody for eight months before being granted bail by the District Court in December 2022 to seek treatment at a residential centre.

He has pleaded guilty to aggravated breaking and entering to commit a serious indictable offence, but also to two separate counts of common assault against Ms Priday’s daughter, Polly, and his own elderly mother.

Einfeld is set to be sentenced on June 27.

“We felt a lot more comfortable when he was in jail,” Polly told ABC. 

“Seven-and-a-half months in jail and just over a year in rehab seems a bit light for a person that broke into an elderly woman’s home and attacked her for no reason.”

Einfield was elected to Waverley Council in 1999, becoming one of the youngest local government representative’s in the country.