Man bailed over Irish takeaway death
A man has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of an Irishman in Sydney, Australia.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Gearoid Walsh, 23, from Dublin, died in hospital four days after suffering severe head injuries in an assault at a takeaway in the Sydney suburb of Coogee.
He had been celebrating the birthday of his 22-year-old sister Aoife when the attack happened last Sunday.
Tobias Liam Simmons, 28, of Clovelly, was charged with manslaughter, reckless wounding and assault causing actual bodily harm following Mr Walsh's death.
On Saturday, he was granted bail when he appeared in Parramatta Bail Court via videolink.
He had walked into a Sydney police station with a solicitor, following an emotional public appeal by Mr Walsh's mother Tressa.
"I'd really like to say that as a mother, I really feel for this guy who got into a fight with Gearoid," Ms Walsh said earlier this week.
"I am heartbroken for him, because we don't blame him. We don't want him to serve time in prison. I think he was just very, very unlucky.
"We don't want him to torture himself over this. I don't see this as a murder."
Officers believe Mr Walsh had been out drinking at hotels in the area before getting involved in an argument with a man at a food shop.
He was punched and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement.
© Press Association