Fall victim stabbed, police say

CIAN English was stabbed in the upper arm before fleeing on to the balcony of a Gold Coast apartment and falling over the railing, police will allege.

Three men have been charged with the 19-year-old’s murder, accused of making him fear for his life to the point where he ran to the balcony and fell to his death.

Police are expected to rely on a decades-old legal precedent – where a man was convicted of murder when his partner fell six floors to her death while trying to escape him – to prosecute the trio.

Jason Ryan Knowles, 22, of Moranbah, Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, 18, of Woodridge and Hayden Paul Kratzmann, 20, of Caboolture, are charged with murder and armed robbery in company after they allegedly came into the apartment where Mr English was staying to rob him and his friend. Mr English was staying at an apartment at the View Pacific Resort at Surfers Paradise on May 22 where he and a group of friends were having a party.

Police said the three accused were with some other young people having a party in the apartment directly above.

According to police, the two groups began talking over the balcony and the men above invited Mr English and his friends upstairs where they allegedly had a stash of prescription medication.

It will be alleged that in the early hours of Saturday morning, the three accused came downstairs with knives to rob Mr English and his friend of their clothing and mobile phones.

Police will allege Mr English was threatened and feared he would be killed after being attacked with a knife.

He was found with a knife wound to his arm and blood was found inside the apartment, police will allege.

The three men are also being investigated over a series of break and enters on chemists in the week leading up to Mr English’s death.