Division 7 councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, 30, charged with murder of stepdad Robert Lumsden, 58
The Gold Coast councillor accused of murdering his stepdad told police the man was “abusive” and died after a fight over a $25 lunch, court documents allege, as new details about the stepdad’s past emerge.
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A young Gold Coast City councillor accused of murdering his stepdad told police he had an “abusive, coercive and controlling relationship” with the man and put him in a choke hold during a physical altercation over a $25 bakery lunch, court documents allege.
Division 7 councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, 30, has been charged with murdering Robert Lumsden, 58, a local LNP figure, at their Arundel home on Wednesday.
Cr Bayldon-Lumsden’s biological father had died when he was five and Mr Lumsden had been a father figure since the councillor was 12.
Police allege in court documents that Cr Bayldon-Lumsden claimed his stepfather had controlled his finances and even his employment at the Gold Coast City Council where he was elected as the city’s youngest-ever councillor in 2020.
The councillor allegedly told cops that he arrived home about noon on Wednesday after going to a local bakery to buy lunch for him and Mr Lumsden.
Cr Bayldon-Lumsden said he was given $25 to spend and told by his stepfather not to spend any more, documents allege.
He allegedly told police he was “belittled” by Mr Lumsden in the living room for about two hours before getting up to leave, but was followed into the kitchen.
Cr Bayldon-Lumsden alleged he was pushed by his stepfather and then pushed him back, resulting in Mr Lumsden falling over, according to the documents.
The councillor also allegedly told police he also fell over during the struggle before placing Mr Lumsden in a choke hold, rendering him unconscious.
Cr Bayldon-Lumsden then allegedly tried to perform CPR on his stepfather and rang police, but Mr Lumsden died at the scene.
Cr Bayldon-Lumsden did not appear when his case was briefly mentioned at Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The councillor’s lawyer, Jason Murakami, of Behlau Murakami Grant, has said his client will plead not guilty to the murder and will make an urgent bail application in the Supreme Court.
Speaking outside court, Mr Murakami said Mr Bayldon-Lumsden and his family were “distraught from the events of the last 12 hours”.
Magistrate Mark Bamberry granted a two-week adjournment to September 8.
Mr Lumsden was a long-time member of the LNP involved in the Bonney and Fadden branches of the party, and was a frequent sight at preselection meetings.
Most recently he was at preselection in May when stepson Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden’s council colleague Cameron Caldwell was nominated to replace Stuart Robert in the federal seat of Fadden.
Mr Lumsden was in 2013 accused of sexually harassing and intimidating a teacher in a failed work compensation claim.
The teacher accused him of “engaging in inappropriate behaviour, which she characterised as harassment, intimidation, bullying and sexual harassment” back in 2013, court documents show.
The incidents were alleged to have occurred at Theodore State School in the Wide Bay region north of the Sunshine Coast and are detailed in a workers compensation claim appeal heard by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission in 2015. The claim is unrelated to the murder investigation.
Mr Lumsden was also understood to be closely involved in Cr Bayldon-Lumsden’s high-profile council run in 2020.
The family have been stalwarts of the Labrador Hockey Club where Mr Lumsden served as a coach.
Mr Lumsden moved to the Gold Coast in the late 1990s and began a relationship with Ms Bayldon, whose previous husband – Cr Bayldon-Lumsden’s father – had died.
The couple share a daughter, who is a high school student and Ryan’s half sister.
By the mid-2000s the family was living at the Chiffley Place property where he died on Wednesday.
On the morning before the councillor’s arrest over the alleged murder, Gold Coast City Council’s youngest ever councillor attended an event at his local state school.
Arundel State School was a place he knows well, he was a past pupil, former hooker in its rugby team and a regular at P&C meetings.
In what was to be his last Facebook post before his arrest, the councillor posted images of an event to reward children who had walked or cycled to school.
“A beautiful morning for Walk and Wheel Wednesday at Arundel State School,” he wrote.
“Today walkers celebrated arrival with a welcoming sausage sizzle attended by Zero The Hero.”
Sources said that staff at the school had found the councillor to be relaxed and in good form.
He enjoyed the bright sunshine, and interaction with children arriving beneath an arch of brightly coloured balloons.
“He was doing a barbecue (sausage sizzle). He was completely normal, quite happy,” a friend said.
“This is all so bizarre. Ryan is very meek and mild — he’s quite gentle.”
Meanwhile, Mr Murakami says police are refusing to release the family cat and he plans to go to the Arundel house on Friday with Mr Bayldon-Lumsden’s uncle to request its return.
Mr Murakami said the cat, Mojo, was a cherished family pet and the family was fretting for its welfare, but police were refusing to release it while the house remained a crime scene.
“The family have asked the police for access to Mojo their cherished cat but police are refusing access by family members so that they can retrieve their family pet,” he said.
“I’m not sure if the officers involved in this matter read the report of the Commission of Inquiry into QPS Responses to Domestic and Family Violence … but they should.
“If the Police Commissioner has read the report and has a heart she would get on the telephone and now and secure the release of the family pet for a family is struggling under extraordinary conditions, as a result of (alleged) serious domestic violence indicia.”
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Originally published as Division 7 councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, 30, charged with murder of stepdad Robert Lumsden, 58
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