FATAL END TO MATES’ US TRIP
Tributes flow after Ocean Grove man killed
FOUR local mates’ trip of a lifetime to the US has ended in tragedy after the death of former Ocean Grove man Matthew Bate. A man has been charged with throwing the coward’s punch that killed Mr Bate outside San Francisco’s Da Vinci Villa, pictured, at the weekend. Ocean Grove Cricket Club president Peter Hart remembered Mr Bate as a “larrikin who loved a good time”, while his family remembered him as a “warm and kind soul”.
A MAN has been charged with throwing the coward’s punch that killed former Ocean Grove man Matthew Bate in San Francisco at the weekend.
Mr Bate, 33, was travelling with long-time mates Justin Lindsay, Rodger Harkin and another man, when he was allegedly punched outside a hotel in the early hours of Friday morning, and reportedly hit his head on a concrete step.
His travelling companions returned home at the weekend while members of his family prepared to fly to the US for the sad task of bringing him home.
Friends and family became aware of the tragedy late on Friday in Australia, many of them gathering at their local football match to mourn the much-loved “larrikin” on Saturday afternoon.
At the same time San Francisco police continued their investigations, eventually making an arrest.
According to some media reports Mr Bate was punched after he and his friends tried to walk away from a verbal argument with another man outside the Da Vinci Villa hotel in San Francisco’s Polk Gulch neighbourhood.
An ambulance was called but he reportedly died before reaching hospital.
However, Officer Gisele Talkoff would not confirm reports Mr Bate was killed by a single coward punch.
“What I can say is that there were no weapons involved and at this stage there are not plans for any further arrests to be made,” the officer said.
Witnesses described police storming to the hotel’s third floor shortly after they arrived at the scene and going from room to room before throwing four “Hispanic” men to the floor.
Two of the men were later led away in handcuffs, and the arrest of a suspect was confirmed by the San Francisco PD Saturday afternoon, local time. It was reported investigators had accessed CCTV footage from the area to help piece together what happened in the moments leading up to the attack, about 2.15am.
It’s understood Mr Bate — who had recently been living in Darwin — and his close friends were travelling in the US for about a week, visiting Los Angeles and Las Vegas before arriving in San Francisco.
The Australian consulate was providing support to the travellers and the Bate family at the weekend, while in Ocean Grove the community rallied to share its grief with Mr Bate’s family, including parents Graeme Bate and Sharon McOuot, and siblings David, Danni and Steven.
The family released a brief statement to the media, saying it was “deeply saddened by (the) tragic and sudden loss”.