An elderly man was enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon at home with his wife before he was allegedly thrown head-first over his balcony by a stranger, leaving him with fatal head injuries.
Michael Thomas Chesworth, 74, dropped three-and-a-half-metres down from the first floor onto a concrete footpath at the bottom of his apartment complex on School Road, Yeronga, in Brisbane‘s south.
He suffered serious head injuries in the fall and was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he underwent surgery but later died.
Raymond John Binge, 49, who was unknown to Mr Chesworth, was arrested at the unit complex and charged with murder.
One neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed Mr Chesworth had just been diagnosed with cancer before his death.
Michael Thomas Chesworth, 74 (pictured), dropped three-and-a-half-metres down from the first floor onto a concrete footpath at the bottom of his apartment complex on School Road, Yeronga, in Brisbane ‘s south
‘It was an old bloke who had six months to live with cancer, I didn’t know him very well,’ he said.
Queensland Police Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said it was a ‘callous and unprovoked attack’.
‘It was a heartless act on an elderly man enjoying a Sunday afternoon with his wife. It’s horrendously tragic and confronting,’ he told reporters on Monday.
Emergency services had arrived at the 52-unit complex at about 1.40pm on Sunday to find the elderly man in a critical condition on the cement path.
Police began knocking on the doors of those in the apartment block, where they then established Binge had been going door-to-door ‘aggressively seeking certain items’.
Mr Massingham said what those items were will make up part of the investigation.
The 74-year-old dropped three-and-a-half-metres down from the first floor onto a concrete footpath at the bottom of his apartment complex on School Road, Yeronga, in Brisbane ‘s south
It’s understood Binge then turned up at the victim’s door and a disagreement kicked off between the pair.
‘We allege the 49-year-old physically picked up the 74-year-old and threw him head-first over the railing,’ Mr Massingham said.
The accused did not live in the building and was not known to the elderly man. He was an associate of someone who resides in the complex.
Mr Massingham said the victim’s wife was ‘devastated’.
‘She is with us at the moment at another location,’ he said.
‘We are providing support to her and we are also providing support to those people within the unit block that witnessed this tragic event.’
Mr Massingham said alcohol was a factor, and police are urging anyone who lives in the unit block to come forward if they are yet to speak to detectives.
Binge was due to face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com
