Two Irishmen were found not-guilty on Monday of the murder of Paul Tavelardis, who died nearly two years ago in Sydney’s inner West. The duo have now flown back to Ireland.
Nathan Kelly and Christopher McLaughlin, tradies hailing from Donegal, were accused of murdering Paul Tavelardis on the night of December 29, 2018.
The pair had been living together in a flat in Summer Hill had been drinking for 12 hours when an altercation with Mr Tavelardis was sparked just after midnight in the middle of Grosvenor Cres.
Mr Tavelardis, 66, was left barely conscious, beaten and bleeding on the road with severe head injuries and later died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on January 7, 2019.
Several witnesses watched on and told police the two men repeatedly kicked and hit the man, who had been living in his car across the street from the Florida Court apartments.
However, Mr Kelly and Mr McLaughlin both pleaded not guilty to murder and argued at trial they were far too intoxicated to have formed the necessary intention to kill the total stranger. Following a month-long trial, a jury acquitted both men.
The not-guilty judgement has infuriated Mr Tavelardis’s son Bradley Tavelardis.
“The DPP were confident that a murder charge was more suitable, which is why the trial began, but to have all charges dropped is inconceivable,” Mr Tavelardis told The Daily Telegraph.
“I have been living in a fog of utter disbelief and bewilderment since the ‘not guilty’ verdict on Monday.
“The bare fact remains that my father, a 66-year-old man who suffered from leukaemia, was beaten by two physically fit men in their early 20s and subsequently died from the related injuries.
“Visiting my dad in the hospital for the last time when he was in a coma, seeing the extent of his injuries and with my siblings, making the necessary decision to turn off his life support was the most harrowing moment of my life.”
Sourced By: Perth Now
