Kerry Kourpanidis, Warren Hordpenko: Kingston Hotel ‘altercation’ ends in murder charge
A former soldier has been charged with murder after the death of a man in a Canberra pub. Court documents reveal one of the men was drinking heavily and wearing a pool triangle as a hat before the fatal incident.
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A former soldier is facing a murder charge after the sudden death of another man in a Canberra pub last Sunday.
Canberra police on Thursday swooped on 35-year-old Kerry Kourpanidis as he was walking to his lawyer’s office, arresting him and charging him with the murder of South Coast man Warren Hordpenko.
Kourpanidis fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday morning, where Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker refused him bail.
In a statement of facts tendered to court, police allege Mr Hordpenko was drunk and making a nuisance of himself at the pub on Sunday, where Kourpanidis was having dinner with friends and his daughter.
According to the documents, Mr Hordpenko, from the NSW town of Dalmeny, had been drinking heavily and in the hours before the fatal “altercation” was seen walking around the pub wearing a pool triangle as a hat.
At one point, Mr Hordpenko went into the male toilets and walked up behind a man at the urinal, putting the triangle between his legs, before being told to “f**k off”.
Police say Mr Hordpenko was cut off from drinking in the hour before he died, after repeatedly annoying a table of friends, none of whom he knew.
It is alleged that Kourpanidis, a tradie and former soldier from a close-knit Canberra family, left the pub and dropped his daughter home before returning and immediately confronting Mr Hordpenko over comments allegedly made to his daughter.
He allegedly tackled Mr Hordpenko off a stool in the pool room, and punched him to the right side of the head.
A bystander, Thomas Rosser, heard a “thud” and saw Mr Hordpenko raise his hands in self-defence, according to police.
It is alleged Kourpanidis landed six or seven blows to Mr Hordpenko’s head.
Mr Rosser described Kourpanidis to police as “looking like he wanted to fight”, according to court documents.
Kourpanidis then rang his ex-wife, Karin Klaus, and is alleged to have told her he had “bashed a man” at the pub.
Police allege he sounded distressed and upset during the phone call.
Court document also show Kourpanidis was the target of police surveillance, with officers watching him return to the hotel, where he sat in a car while a friend went inside.
In a tapped phone call, Kourpanidis is alleged to have said it was “really good news” that there was no security cameras covering the pool room.
“There’s no CCTV. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a big relief,” he allegedly said.
Ms Walker said there were no “special or exceptional” circumstances that would allow Kourpanidis to get bail.
His case returns to court later this month.