Irish expat dies following assault in Australia
AUSTRALIAN police have warned a fisherman charged with causing grievous bodily harm to an Irish father-of-two who died from a traumatic brain injury that he is likely to face more serious charges such as manslaughter or murder.
Charlie McCarthy (32) died from injuries sustained in a street attack in East Fremantle outside Perth.
He died around 24 hours after being struck on the head following a confrontation with two fishermen as he walked home with his Australian wife Nicole after attending a festive event last Friday night with friends.
Mr McCarthy, who was from Aghada in east Cork, was confronted by one of the fishermen as he walked on Riverside Road to try and find a taxi home. Words were exchanged and the man then attacked Mr McCarthy.
During the altercation he was struck on the temple, apparently with a heavy screwdriver-type implement used to help load a fishing speargun.
A 34-year-old fisherman was arrested a short time later.
Mr McCarthy, who worked for a local cable firm, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with traumatic brain injuries.
His family, including his brother Daniel, flew from Cork to attend his hospital bedside.
His life support machine was turned off on Sunday night.
Andrew Doan (34), with an address in Joondanna, was charged with inflicting grievous body harm and was remanded to appear again before a Perth magistrate on January 3.
Police have already indicated that the charge is likely to be upgraded to manslaughter or murder once the post-mortem examination is concluded.