Gold Coast councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden charged with murder of mother’s de facto partner told police his stepfather was ‘abusive and controlling’, court documents allege

A councillor charged with murder told police his stepdad was “abusive” and died after a choke hold in a fight over a $25 lunch, court documents allege.

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.

Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden claims his stepfather was abusive and controlling, according to court documents.

Police allege in court documents that Cr Bayldon-Lumsden claimed that 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.

Police at the scene. Picture Glenn Hampson

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.

A man is accompanied by police as they make inquiries into the death of a 58-year-old man at an Arundel home on the Gold Coast. Picture: 9 News

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”.

Mr Bayldon-Lumsden was charged with murder late on Wednesday night after Mr Lumsden was found dead at the family home at Arundel that afternoon.

Magistrate Mark Bamberry granted a two-week adjournment to September 8.

Mr Lumsden, 58, was a long-term Gold Coast resident with deep community links in the city’s north, including long-term membership of the LNP and as a stalwart of the Labrador Hockey Club.

Councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden outside his office in January. Picture: Richard Gosling

Mr Lumsden moved to the Gold Coast in the late 1990s and began a relationship with Ms Bayldon, whose previous husband – Mr 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.

Between 2004 and 2007 Mr Lumsden was a director of Prestige Furniture Imports.

During this period Ms Bayldon, a teacher with more than 35 years’ experience with the Department of Education, was serving as a head of department at Coombabah State High School.

Police at the scene, investigating a suspicious death at 7 Chiffley Place Arundel. . Picture Glenn Hampson

In 2013 she relocated to the Wide Bay region where she served as principal of Biggenden and Theodore state schools.

According to documents lodged with Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, Mr Lumsden continued to live part-time on the Gold Coast while also spending significant periods of time in the Wide Bay region.

Mr Lumsden was also understood to be closely involved in Mr Bayldon-Lumsden’s high-profile council run in 2020.

Mr Bayldon-Lumsden, a teetotaller and former schoolteacher, rose to prominence on the political scene in 2020 when, at just 27, he became the youngest councillor to be elected in the city’s history.

On Thursday, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said following consultation with council CEO Tim Baker, Mr Bayldon-Lumsden would remain in office “for the time being”.

Cr Tate said he was “devastated” by the alleged events of Wednesday.

“Of course we are shocked, condolences to the family and the issue is that he is innocent before being proven guilty,” he said.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden had the respect of councillors.

“Whether he gets bail or not, that will determine the direction the city will take and in the interim I will write to the Deputy Premier (Steven Miles) who is the Local Government Minister and ask him for advice because the power rests with him in terms of options for councillor Bayldon-Lumsden.”

Cr Tate struggled to speak about the personal impact, saying he would get “quite emotional” but praised Mr Bayldon-Lumsden for his work as a councillor.

“I hold him in the highest esteem and anyone who has a work colleague who you hold like that, you have to be a robot not to feel sad about it,” he said.

“He never created an enemy in this political world and it is understandable that people are shocked.

Cr Brooke Patterson and Cr Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden pictured during the 2022 council budget meeting. Picture Glenn Hampson

“He is well-loved and I am always happy to be with him in Division 7.

“(Becoming a councillor) was a big learning curve for him but he picked it up well.

“ He has the full respect of all councillors.”

He confirmed support was being offered to council staff.

Neighbour Alena Levrik said there had never been any trouble at the house, where Mr Bayldon-Lumsden was believed to have been living with his parents.

“I wouldn’t really say anything about our neighbour Ryan,” she said.

“They’re a perfect house.

“There’s nothing I would ­really recall, nothing’s been happening, it’s pretty quiet.” Ms Levrik added that the councillor had not been seen so much in recent weeks.

Lawyer Jason Murakami outside Southport Court on Thursday morning. Picture: Richard Gosling

“From what we know he (Mr Bayldon-Lumsden) lives there with his parents,” she said. “Normally we would see him running in the mornings with his sister but lately, maybe the last one or two months we would hardly see them.

“He would be in and out.”

Neighbour Kim Thompson said she had watched Mr Bayldon-Lumsden grow up.

“We’ve been here 17 years and they have been here the whole time,” she said.

Police at the Arundel home on Wednesday night. Picture Glenn Hampson

“So we have seen Ryan and his younger sister grow up from little.

“We never had much to do with the mum and dad.

“But Ryan and his sister were always very active out in the street.

“My daughter and his sister used to play in the street a lot.”

Ms Thompson said that, despite police being called to the house for a disturbance, “I was home all day and didn’t hear a thing.”

Police at the scene in Arundel. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“The neighbour who lives opposite me, which is next to their house, said they didn’t hear anything either,” she said.

City councillors, who would not named, said they were left dumbstruck by the news.

“I just cannot believe it. I’m devastated that this has happened,” one colleague said on Wednesday night.

“He’s a good guy who is very conscientious and has made his mark since we were elected in 2020.

“It’s just terribly sad.”

Mr Bayldon-Lumsden was born and grew up on the Gold Coast, alongside his sister Ruth, and attended Arundel State School and The Southport School (TSS) where he excelled at sport and won awards for his community service.

He played rugby league at Runaway Bay, did martial arts including Kung fu and Jiu jitsu.

In 2009, when he was just 16 years, he received a 2009 Queensland Young Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with disabled youth.

He was the University of Queensland’s youngest pharmacy student and he was working as a teacher at TSS and a respite carer when he announced in October 2019 he would contest the 2020 council election in the new Division 7.

Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden speaking in favour of creating more student accommodation on the Gold Coast in a speech at a full council meeting.

He ultimately spent more than $43,111 on his successful political tilt and was sworn into office in April 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Since being elected he has taken on several prominent community issues including saving tinnies at the Labrador foreshore from removal, development on the northern Gold Coast, the Arundel Hills Country Club redevelopment and illegal dumping.

Cr Tate said Mr Bayldon-Lumsden’s position as Division 7 Councillor was not vacant and no decisions had been taken about filling the post.

“It’s not vacant, he is still a councillor and if he is on bail, he is currently a councillor,” he said.

“The question to ask is, can he carry out his council duties and if he cannot then we make the next move on what we do with Division 7,” Cr Tate said.

It’s understood that, if Mr Bayldon-Lumsden resigns from office or it is declared vacant, a new councillor would be appointed to serve the unexpired months of his term in office ahead of March’s council election.

Originally published as Gold Coast councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden charged with murder of mother’s de facto partner told police his stepfather was ‘abusive and controlling’, court documents allege