Liam Anderson killed by best mate Mathew Flame after pair went on drug bender, police allege
AS Mathew Flame allegedly stomped his best mate — Angry Anderson’s son Liam Anderson — to death with his bare feet, he paused and stared with “no expression on his face” as a horrified witness screamed “what are you doing?”
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AS Mathew Flame allegedly stomped his best mate — Angry Anderson’s son Liam Anderson — to death with his bare feet, he paused and stared without expression at a horrified witness.
Flame, 20, has been charged with murdering Liam, 26, in an alleged drug-fuelled psychosis in a northern beaches park just after 6am Sunday morning.
A man on an early-morning walk on Bridge St, Queenscliff was stopped by the sound of a man “grunting and gasping for air”, according to police facts tendered in court.
The witness allegedly saw Flame stomping and kicking Liam as he lay motionless and facedown across a pathway.
“What are you doing?” the man allegedly screamed.
“The accused took a step away from the victim, looking at the witness but did not say anything and had no expression on his face,” the facts say.
Liam allegedly raised his head screaming “help me, help me, help me”.
The witness backed away from the horrifying scene and called triple-zero.
Flame had allegedly taken multiple MDMA pills and smoked three cones and, according to the facts, said he had been possessed by “something f...ing evil”.
Police will allege the pair had taken MDMA capsules, consumed alcohol and smoked cannabis over the course of a Saturday night that peaked with a Halloween-themed “Awful Things” club event at the Burdekin Hotel on Oxford St before eventually taking Uber rides to Narraweena and then the Crown St house party in Queenscliff at 4.15am.
At the party Flame allegedly took more MDMA and smoked a quantity of cannabis before suffering heart palpitations and passing out.
It is alleged that when he regained consciousness he told revellers that he was “under something’s control” and that it was “something f…ing evil”.
The pair eventually left the unit and walked the short distance to Bridge and Pavilion street where Flame started attacking his friend by punching and stomping on him.
Police allege that Liam was beaten to death between 6am and 6.10am.
When police arrived, it took four officers using capsicum spray to subdue Flame, who was still covered in the victim’s blood.
Police claim Flame told investigators hours afterwards that bashing the man he had called his “homie” to death, was “the only way he could escape from the reality he was suffering under”.
“The accused states that he knew what he was doing at the time of the attack, but had no control over his actions,” the documents say.
The apprentice plumber, who was treated at hospital after his arrest, was “stunned” to hear what had happened, a police source said.
Anderson flew home from a 40th anniversary gig with Rose Tattoo in Perth after being told about the attack by his eldest son Galen in an early morning phone call.
He and his grieving family were locked down inside their Beacon Hill home yesterday as a steady stream of flowers and tearful friends arrived.
Flame did not apply for bail at Manly Local Court yesterday, where he appeared charged with Liam’s murder.
His lawyer Charles Waterstreet tendered the police fact sheet and applied for his client to undergo a mental health assessment.
Flame smiled at his mum calmly from the dock while nursing a red and swollen right hand. He will next appear in court in January.
Mr Waterstreet said it was a “double tragedy” for the two families.
“What has happened is lightning has struck twice on two individuals and their families,” he said.
Outside court Flame’s solicitor Omar Juweinat said the devastated Flame family had treated Liam “as one of their own”.
“The Flame family are absolutely beside themselves,” he said.
“Their hearts go out to the Anderson family. It is undoubtedly the most difficult time that those families are going to have to endure.
“It is absolutely imperative that the community keep an open mind about these tragic circumstances.”
A girl at the party who did not want to be named said: “people were drinking heavily at the party but nobody saw anything untoward between the two before they left in the early hours of Sunday.”
She said Flame was not violent: “He’s the kindest person — he wouldn’t touch a fly.”
She added that when the two mates left there was no sign of trouble.
“They were fine, they were happy, I didn’t see this at all coming.”