LINK TO ICE HABIT Relationship with dad said to be rocky
SLAIN Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh had been in conflict with his son about the 26- yearold’s lifestyle in recent weeks.
The investigation will focus on their relationship and the spiral of Cy Walsh from yogapractising, meditating “couchsurfer” to accused killer.
Cy Walsh entered no plea to a charge of murder at a bedside hearing in a hospital psychiatric ward yesterday.
Sources say the relationship between Walsh and Cy, who lived at his parents’ home and with a friend nearby, was rocky.
On a “couch- surfing” website, Cy outlined a seemingly idyllic lifestyle: “My parents and me share the space, the spare bedroom is ready to go with inflatable mattress. Smoking is fine, pet dog in residence ( Jack Russell), near oval for Aussie rules games. We sleep early and wake early.”
On one of two blogs, he spoke about violence in schools: “We coexist in a society where violence is an accepted part of daily life.
“It comes back to our responsibilities as fully developed adults to set good examples for our children.
“We need to cultivate a culture of nurturing, safety and love, not one of violence, bullying and fear.”
Though his
father was
a high- profile sports leader, little was known about his son.
Photos on the Facebook account of mother Meredith Walsh show a happy, smiling family, sharing a dinner table.
But in April, Phil Walsh gave a hint of struggles trying to “reconnect” with his son after his obsession with football.
In his couch- surfing profile, Cy Walsh describes himself as a bartender from Geelong with a diploma in Japanese. He says he has lived in Japan and visited Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and the Amazon.
His “current mission” is to “prepare myself financially, spiritually and linguistically for the adventure of my life”.
He lists his interests as yoga, meditation, surfing, crossfit and learning to play guitar.
Another of Cy Walsh’s online presences is a Wordpress blog, containing two research papers posted in August 2013.
The first is an essay on school violence, examining how media reports influence public opinion about the issue.
The second essay outlines Cy Walsh’s thoughts on discipline in schools.
“Zero tolerance policy, and indeed punishment strategies in general, produce undesirable results. Punishment effects are short- term and fail to reduce the factors that contribute to misbehaviour.”