Nerang man, 34, charged over Matthew Pascoe’s alleged murder

A 35-year-old found dead in a Nerang hotel room in suspicious circumstances hours after checking in had been shot at point blank range back in 2018. READ THE LATEST

Matthew (Matt) Pascoe, 35, was found dead in hotel room at Nerang. Picture: Facebook.

A man has been charged with murder following the death of a 35-year-old Gold Coaster who was found dead on the floor of a Nerang hotel room.

Gold Coaster Matthew Pascoe was found by a cleaner on the floor at the Hinterland Hotel in Nerang about 11.15am on Saturday.

A post-mortem on his body found he had sustained serious head and internal injuries.

On Wednesday night, police charged a 34-year-old Nerang man with one count of murder.

He is due to face Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.

“The initial injuries and cause of death were not clearly visible to investigators or scientific officers at the scene,” Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Mark Mooney said.

“We believe that a third party has been involved in causing the injuries – we don’t believe the injuries could be self sustained or caused by an accident.”

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Mark Mooney.

Inspector Mooney said Mr Pascoe checked into the hotel on Station Rd with his mother about 2pm on Friday before leaving for the night three hours later.

Mr Pascoe was last seen on the hotel’s CCTV footage at reception before he returned to his room.

Police believe the alleged murder occurred within one of the rooms.

Inspector Mooney said Mr Pascoe, who was known to police, had booked the hotel room to consume alcohol as a court order prevented him from drinking at home.

Man’s suspicious death in hotel eights years after surviving shooting

A man who was found dead in suspicious circumstances at a Gold Coast hotel on the weekend survived being shot at point blank range seven years ago in an unrelated incident.

Matthew (Matt) Pascoe was discovered by a cleaner at the Hinterland Hotel in Nerang about 11.15am on Saturday. The results of a post-mortem – three days later – revealed he sustained serious head and internal injuries.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Mark Mooney said: “The initial injuries and cause of death were not clearly visible to investigators or scientific officers at the scene.

“We believe that a third party has been involved in causing the injuries – we don’t believe the injuries could be self sustained or caused by an accident. We are treating it as suspicious.”

Pascoe was found deceased by a clearer at the Hinterland Hotel. Picture: Hinterland Hotel.

The 35-year-old who was known to police had booked a room at the hotel to consume alcohol because he was under a court order preventing him from drinking at home.

He came to the attention of police in April 2018 when he was shot at point blank range with a sawn off shotgun, in a separate and unrelated incident.

The then 28-year-old had been involved in a verbal dispute with another man, Tyson James Scott Boulden, at a park in Nerang.

Boulden had arrived at the scene with the firearm which “unintentionally” discharged, spraying Mr Pascoe’s legs with pellets.

“I walked up to the car for a fight, you know, to use these (raising fists) and a gun gets pulled on me,” Pascoe told Southport District Court in 2018, where Boulden faced a committal hearing, charged over the incident.

“It (shotgun) was pointed at my face for about a second, and it got pulled down and I got shot in the legs. I was probably a metre or two away from the car.”

Boulden pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and possessing a shortened firearm and was handed a three-year prison sentence.

There is no suggest of any involvement of Boulden in Mr Pascoe’s death on the weekend or that the death relates in any way to the previous shooting.

Detectives Inspector Mooney confirmed Mr Pascoe checked into the hotel on Station Rd, Nerang with his mother at about 2pm on Friday. She departed for the night at about 5.00pm.

Matthew Pascoe had attended the Hinterland Hotel in Nerang because he was subject to a court order preventing him from drinking alcohol at home, according to police. Picture: Supplied.

He was last seen on the hotel’s CCTV footage attending the reception at about 6.20pm before returning to his room.

“We believe the incident has occurred within one of the rooms. It was room seven at the hotel,” Det Insp Mooney said.

“The rooms at the hotel are quite spread out and they’re quite thick walls I believe. So we have contacted a number of the people that were staying there already and inquiries are being made with them.

“We’re appealing for anyone that may have stayed in those rooms or visited those rooms between the hours of 6pm and 11.15am the following day. So that’s Friday evening and Saturday morning. Please contact police either via police link or attend your local police station.”

Mr Pascoe had been drinking in his room and at the hotel throughout the evening. Police also believe he interacted with other guests and patrons.

“As a crime scene, itself was quite undisturbed if you like. The deceased was clearly, you know, he was lying on his back within the room next to the bed,” Det. Insp Mooney said.

“There was some blood next to him. However, there was no clear visible injuries. At that point in time it was unknown whether it was caused by some sort of medical episode or, as it has turned out, to be a third party intervention.”

Originally published as Nerang man, 34, charged over Matthew Pascoe’s alleged murder