The death of musician Andrew Marshall after he was allegedly thrown out of the window of a popular Perth pub has dealt another blow to a family already rocked by tragedy.
Police have charged a 25-year-old Rock Machine bikie associate, Stefan Pahia Schmidt, with murder over the death of the New Zealand-born man, who plummeted up to eight metres out of the second-storey window of the Ocean Beach Hotel in Cottesloe, striking the pavement.
Mr Marshall's cousin, New Zealand local government councillor Nikki Guy, said it was an added tragedy after the loss of her brother, who was allegedly gunned down in his driveway of his rural property, in the country's north island, on July 8 last year.
The window at the Ocean Beach Hotel where the man fell to his death. Photo: Paul Entwistle.
Scott Guy, a Fielding farmer, was killed while his pregnant wife Kylee and their toddler son were inside their home. After a nine-month investigation police last month arrested Mr Guy's brother-in-law, Ewen Macdonald, for the slaying.
Mr Macdonald has denied the murder charge and is due to face court again on May 26.
Ms Guy, a councillor for Palmerston North, said this morning that news of her cousin's death was tragic.
Andy Marshall ... allegedly hurled through a window.
"We found out yesterday morning. We were especially close and we all grew up together. He worked on the farm when he was younger too... it's a pretty difficult time for us all again."
She said Mr Marshall had been living in Perth for a couple of years, tiling roofs. He did not have a partner or children. No plans had yet been made for his funeral.
Friends left in mourning
Blood and glass litter the pavement outside the Ocean Beach Hotel after the fight. Photo: Channel Ten
Mr Schmidt appeared in Perth Magistrates Court today on one count of murder. He was remanded in custody to appear in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on May 18.
His alleged victim was the drummer with local band Rich Widow and his bandmates left a tribute to their friend on the group's Facebook page yesterday, expressing their shock at how such an event could occur.
"Andy was always a joy to be around. He made friends of everyone he came into contact with, and seemed incapable of making an enemy," friend Brayden Edwards wrote.
Police want to speak to the two women who were seen talking to the victim.
"What happened last night was a shock to everyone that knew Andy. He seemed like the least likely and least deserving person to bear the brunt of such senseless aggression and violence.
"The details of how this happened, the plight of those responsible, and the broader concern about the stoic culture of violence in this country and this city are all secondary matters to us.
"Today we lost a brilliant drummer, an inspiring character and a close friend. Rest in Peace Andy Marshall. Keep on smiling!"
A popular location on Sunday afternoon ... the Ocean Beach Hotel in Cottesloe.
Bouncer 'links' to bikies
Detectives are also investigating whether bouncers at the pub allowed the Rock Machine bikie gang members access, despite management wishing to bar them, hours before Mr Marshall was killed.
Major crime detectives said Mr Schmidt was in the company of up five members of the bikie gang that night.
A witness told WAtoday.com.au that the bouncers were "friendly" with the gang members and had allowed them into the hotel once before.
Management refused to comment but they were reportedly concerned by the bikies' presence in the pub.
Acting Detective Superintendent David Bryson confirmed he had heard such reports and it was "something that we would have to look into".
A pool of blood and glass
After the fall, pub revellers rushed to help Mr Marshall, who was found in a pool of blood and broken glass and had suffered serious head and spinal wounds after striking the pavement.
He was treated at the scene before being taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in a critical condition, but died from his injuries in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Police were called to the popular Sunday drinking spot on Marine Parade in Cottesloe about 9pm, and after speaking to witnesses tracked down the man they believed responsible.
Acting Superintendent Bryson claimed the victim was "casually chatting" to two women shortly before an argument erupted between the gang and the man.
A different witness has claimed the man was punched before being thrown at the window. However acting Superintendent Bryson said police were still reviewing CCTV footage and were still trying to determine if more bikie gang members were involved.
"This is a case of a young man on a Sunday night out with his friends having a beer and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
"This young man did not provoke anyone, this is what we will allege, and he was simply grabbed and thrown through a level-two plate glass window, the drop from that window was approximately seven metres."
Police want to speak to the women who were seen talking to Mr Marshall.
One of the women was described as being Caucasian, in her mid to late 20s, with a slim build, about 160 centimetres tall with long blonde hair in a pony tail. She was wearing a yellow strapped top, three-quarter length leggings and stiletto heels.
The other woman was described as being tanned, in her late teens or early 20s, with a slim build and also about 160 centimetres tall with dark long hair. She was seen wearing a black top tucked into a green skirt.
Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Witness: 'It was a good time to leave'
One witness named "Craig" told radio 6PR he was at the Ocean Beach Hotel but left 10 minutes before the fatal window-push because he had a "gut-feeling" that it was a "good time to leave".
He said a group of about seven people aged in their mid-20s to mid-30s were dancing and having a good time on the pub's second floor when a second group of people entered.
"... when a particular group walked in I didn't feel comfortable up there, so we left," he said.
"They were big people, they were very solid, a group of three blokes and a couple of females. They seemed very, very agitated."
Detective Superintendent Charlie Carver, of organised and serious crime, said it was concerning that innocent members of the public could become embroiled in fights with gang members at bars and hotels, since gangs "resort straight-up with violence".
"The Liquor Act does give [licencees] the power to bar them ... but the Rock Machine don't have a patch per se. They have a patch when they feel like it, they bring it out but they don't actually wear the patch every day of week," he said.
"They work on a series of rings and knowledge of their own membership, so that's generally how they work, so to identify them is very difficult."
Second attack at OBH
It is the second incident of someone going through a window at the pub, after a South Australian man was convicted last week of assaulting a patron by causing him to fall out of the lower storey window.
Matthew Angus Morran, 28, was found guilty by a Perth magistrate of assaulting Phillip McElhinney, 53, and causing him bodily harm.
The court heard how the victim was shoved, stumbling over chairs and out of the window of the hotel, suffering serious injuries, in October last year.
Morran was fined $4000 and court costs and granted a spent conviction.
Police defend pubs
Speaking on radio 6PR, Detective Superintendent Jim Migro, of the licensing enforcement division, defended the role of hotels in violent attacks.
"Most of the licensees out and about the state actually do do a pretty good job. Occasionally there are some who don't," he said.
"One of the biggest issues here, as I said before, is that a lot of the people who go to these pubs really have to start taking some accountability for the way that they behave and start to realise they have to be responsible adults and there's more to getting drunk and getting into fights."
He said current research showed that 75 per cent of all alcohol was sold through bottle shops.
"If people continue on this way, you could very, very well in the future get back to the total prohibition days and nobody wants that type of thing."
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