Matthew Alan Warner on trial over ‘king hit’ punch outside Kings Beach Tavern
A jury has been discharged without making a decision over whether a plasterer’s punch was in self defence when he ‘king hit’ another patron, causing him a brain injury, outside a Sunshine Coast pub.
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A jury could not reach a verdict as they considered whether a Sunshine Coast plasterer was defending himself when he delivered another man a ‘king hit’ outside a Sunshine Coast pub.
Plasterer, lifeguard and father Matthew Alan Warner made his appearance in the dock at the Maroochydore District Court on Tuesday, October 8 and pleaded not guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark told the jury the “king hit” punch and the injury that it had caused was not contested, but jurors must conclude whether Mr Warner was acting in self defence.
The alleged offence occurred near the Kings Beach Tavern beside a phone box on Burgess St about 7.30pm on March 19, 2023.
Failed verdict
About 5pm on Friday, following four hours of deliberation, the jury could not come to an unanimous decision whether to find Mr Warner guilty or not.
Judge Glen Cash discharged the jury and thanked jurors for their assistance in the past four days.
Day Four
The trial commenced swiftly on Friday morning with defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-Mckeown finalising his closing submissions.
He pointed to the jury Mr Warner wiping his nose in footage played earlier in the trial, suggesting his client may have been injured.
This would corroborate with Mr Warner’s police interview, where he told officers he had been punched in the nose by the victim.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown reminded the jury the victim had approached Mr Warner first on the night of the incident shortly after he was evicted from the tavern.
He brought up evidence given by witnesses in the trial, who heard the victim say “I’ll smash you” and “I’ll have you any day of the week.”
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown suggested, as heard in Mr Warner’s interview, the plasterer did not know what would happened if he turned his victim or whether he was armed nor whether he had more friends waiting at the pub who could pose a threat.
The jury retired about 1pm to begin deliberating but returned after about two and a half hours announcing they could not deliver an unanimous verdict.
Judge Glen Cash politely asked the jury to reconsider, assuring jurors they had no time limit to come to a decision.
Day Three
The third day of the trial on Thursday swiftly moved to the fifteenth witness who was sitting on her veranda on the night of incident.
The woman told the jury Mr Warner had agitated the man who was in turn attempting to calm him down.
She said the two men then hugged before it “flared up again”, repeating the cycle a second time until Mr Warner landed his punch.
The final piece of evidence presented to the court was an 80-minute interview between Mr Warner and two investigating police officers at the Caloundra Police Station.
Mr Warner could be heard in the video explaining to the officers he had been confronted by a gentleman from the tavern throwing swings and charging at him.
He said the man had hit him on the nose, causing him to bleed, and he retaliated in self-defence.
“Definitely not going to sit there and cop it mate,” Mr Warner said in the interview.
When the officers questioned him on why Mr Warner had felt the need to defend himself, he said the man was “being aggressive” and was in his “bubble”.
“I don’t know him from a bar of soap,” he said.
Mr Warner explained he had initially tried to walk away backwards, not wanting to take his eyes of the man lest he was hit in the head.
He described the man to have his fists clenched by his side which came up to swing punches.
Officers asked Mr Warner if he had been scared at the time but he responded saying he was a “bit worried”.
“If I didn’t feel threatened, I wouldn’t have (punched him)”, Mr Warner said in the interview.
Crown prosecutor’s closing submissions
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark addressed the jury, pointing out there had been nothing ever mentioned by witnesses, nor seen in footage that Mr Warner could have been defending himself against moments before the strike.
He summarised Mr Warner’s police interview, identifying he had not given any reason to defend himself other than the alleged victim’s proximity.
Mr Stark supported this claim by referring to the multiple instances the pair had hugged or shook hands during the incident, as told by several witnesses.
He also argued that same proximity was seen earlier during the incident and the alleged victim was standing still and only making a pointing motion before the punch.
He suggested to the jury Mr Warner’s action could be seen as “getting one up or against” the alleged victim, as a “coward punch” or as revenge, retaliation or in annoyance rather than defence.
Mr Stark continued on to say a traumatic brain injury could have been “foreseeable” if one were to strike a drunk person while standing on concrete.
Defence barrister’s closing submissions
Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-Mckeown asked the jury to “not judge a book by its cover”, referencing the footage which was first played in the trial depicting Mr Warner’s punch.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown reminded the court the victim had barked, growled and called Mr Warner a “c---” during the altercation.
He suggested one could not “go back in time” to protect oneself but “act pre-emptively,” indicating to Mr Warner’s alleged act of self-defence.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown noted witnesses had described the alleged victim’s behaviour as weird or unpredictable, often engaging and disengaging in aggressive behaviour.
He reminded the jury of evidence heard early in the trial from the person who filmed the incident.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown pointed to the witness having his attention drawn back to the altercation, prompting him to start recording just seconds before the punch.
The court had heard the witness could not recall what had drawn his attention.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown will deliver the remainder of his submissions on Friday.
Day Two
The second day of the trial on Wednesday started by introducing the victim to the jury in order to give evidence.
The victim told the jury he began drinking that day by consuming two cans of beer before heading to the Caloundra Hotel, eventually making his trek to the Kings Beach Tavern to participate in a pool tournament.
The court was told the walk was the last thing he would remember before waking up in hospital.
The crown prosecutor moved on to bring in the fifth witness — a woman who had observed some of the incident with her partner from their apartment balcony.
She told the court shouting and grunting from the street had brought her to her balcony to see Mr Warner and the victim below.
The woman said the victim was “sternly walking up to” Mr Warner who was circling around trying to get out of sight as the victim “charged” at him.
She described the victim as “stern and intimidating” at that point.
Having returned inside and back outside several times during the course of the incident, she had observed a third man arriving to break up the pair and the group moving to a hug and handshake at one point.
The court was told she also saw Mr Warner allegedly circling to the side of the victim as he spoke to the third man and attempting to punch him, only managing to graze the victim’s head.
The woman said the victim had not retaliated.
She later observed the pair handshaking again and having a discussion by the phone box before it became slightly heated again, which ultimately led to the punch which knocked out the victim.
“It all happened really fast,” she said.
The woman told the court she had not seen the victim, who was “standing strong” to have made any movements other than pointing at Mr Warner and towards the street.
The woman’s partner was then brought into court as the sixth witness, who said he had heard someone yelling “you f---ing dog” from the street.
He told the court Mr Warner was “coming at him” while the victim had been “woofing” as they began “shadow-boxing” each other.
The witness said the victim appeared to have been using his size as intimidation.
Similar to his partner’s testimony, the witness told the court he had seen Mr Warner strike the victim — a left hook over the shoulder – after they had “buddy hugged”, which did not phase the victim.
When the final blow ultimately occurred, Mr Warner had yelled “f---” and put the victim into a recovery position, the witness told the court.
Upon defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-Mckeown’s questioning, the witness agreed the victim had charged at and chased Mr Warner during the incident.
Another observer to the incident was then called to court, who shared details with the jury what he had seen prior to the pair becoming aggressive.
He said Mr Warner had allegedly walked up to the victim on the other side of the road with a can, offering him the drink before Mr Warner said “let’s go for round two” which prompted the pair to walk towards the phone box.
Mr Stark then called a witness who had met up with her friend Mr Warner that afternoon prior to the incident where she noticed he was drunk and “obliviated”.
After a swim at the beach, the pair had returned to her home on Burgess St but she ultimately told him to leave, the court heard.
The woman said it took Mr Warner about an hour to leave her home due to his drunken state.
The court heard she had also interacted with the victim on the night, who only had one thong on his foot and was searching for the other, refusing to leave until he found it.
She said the victim was “pissed” and was yelling out when Mr Ygoa-Mckeown presented his questions.
The court then heard from the eighth witness who had been walking back to her home when she came across the incident.
She told the jury she had seen the pair in a tight embrace but were not exchanging friendly words and she caught the victim say “don’t hit me” which Mr Warner had allegedly returned “nah it’s all good”.
Later on Wednesday, the court heard from a longtime friend and fellow plasterer of Mr Warner who was called to the scene by the woman who had asked Mr Warner to leave.
He told the jury the victim was “trying to have a go” at Mr Warner and the pair was grabbing each before eventually settling for a hug.
The witness said he had left the scene to return a short time later and observed the victim on the ground.
Mr Stark then called the man who had picked up Mr Warner following the incident, who said he had mentioned that he was wacked or punched in the nose that evening.
A security guard of the tavern walked up to the witness box and told the court of the victim’s behaviour before he was evicted from the premises.
He had described his behaviour to have been switching between calm and aggressive.
The final witness called on Wednesday was a Domino’s driver who had passed the pair on the road twice, describing the victim as appearing to try to get Mr Warner off the road.
He said Mr Warner himself appeared agitated but not aggressive.
On his return, the driver saw the victim on the ground and had asked Mr Warner if he was all right to which he replied the victim was “fine”.
Assuming they were “mates,” and the victim had passed out drunk, the driver then left the scene, the court heard.
Opening remarks
Mr Stark began his opening remarks on Tuesday by guiding the jury through a 30-second video filmed by a witness from the smoking area by the tavern, showing Mr Warner — who was shirtless and in underwear or shorts — and the alleged victim standing by a phone box and facing each other.
The footage depicted Mr Warner’s punch shortly after the man pointed to the opposite side of the street.
The victim’s body crumbled immediately and Mr Warner crouched over his body, shifting the man into the recovery position, the footage showed.
The court was told the victim suffered a traumatic brain injury and was put into an induced coma in hospital.
Mr Stark said the victim does not recall anything from the evening of the alleged offence.
The crown prosecutor continued on to play footage taken about five minutes before the punch, which showed the victim and Mr Warner “shaping up to each other”.
The video showed the victim walking towards Mr Warner aggressively and even running at him periodically, as Mr Warner backed away quickly before stepping forward again.
Mr Stark told the court if Mr Warner had punched the victim in this instance, he “would not be here today” to determine self-defence.
He summarised the evidence the jury would hear this week, noting Mr Warner had been at Kings Beach with a friend consuming cans of vodka before he went to the side of Burgess St — where the alleged offence would take place — waiting to be picked up.
He also pointed out the victim and Mr Warner had given each other a hug or shook hands at one point.
Mr Stark went on to outline what Mr Warner had said in his interview with police, including how he was allegedly punched in the nose by the victim earlier.
He said Mr Warner told officers the victim offered to have beers with him in his apartment, which he had refused, fearing he would be pushed off the balcony.
He said to officers the victim had trespassed into his personal space and was acting “weird”, with the proximity causing him to act in self-defence.
Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-Mckeown began his opening statements by replaying the footage of the pair circling each other prior to the punch.
He pointed out Mr Warner had touched his nose at one point, potentially indicating an injury, and moving either away from the victim or towards the direction of his belongings which remained on the side of the road.
Mr Ygoa-Mckeown told the court the victim, a regular at the Kings Beach Tavern, had been evicted from the premises that night due to his behaviour.
He said the victim had continued to come back to him and considered his actions “weird” and in his personal space.
Day One
The jury began to hear evidence from the first witness, a police officer who attended the scene following the incident in the afternoon.
The court saw CCTV collected from the tavern and a second police officer told the jury he saw and photographed blood on the ground following the incident.
The third witness, who had recorded the incident, then told the court how he had seen the victim being escorted out by security.
The witness said he noticed the victim passed out on the stairs to the tavern at one point, before he next saw him yelling and “getting up” in Mr Warner’s face.
He told the court the victim had yelled “come on dog c---” and “literally barking like a dog”.
The witness had also observed a woman coming out of an apartment complex to break the pair off and then later the pair hugging.
When it came to the “king hit,” the witness said he had not heard any yelling or shouting prior.
Mr Ygoa Mckeown confirmed with the witness that the victim was aggressive, barking and growling like a dog and swearing.
The court was told he was also yelling loudly enough for other people to come out of the tavern to observe the incident.
The witness saw Mr Warner try to return to his belongings while the victim was consistently “charging and yelling at him,” he said.
The witness could not remember what occurred to have drawn his attention back to the pair after they hugged each other.
He told the court he could not remember hearing Mr Warner say anything during the incident.
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