Man taken off life support after pub brawl left him fighting for life

A man who was caught up in a fight at the Lighthouse Hotel pub has died after being taken off life support.

The Burnett Heads man suffered critical head injuries in an alleged pub brawl involving a volunteer lifeguard.

The fight was witnessed by his young daughter.

27-year-old Mitchell Kieran Joyce has been charged with grievous bodily harm in relation to the incident.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman confirmed that Matthew James Hayes, 38, died, but said that charges have not been upgraded at this time.

Joyce appeared before Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday for a bail application.

Magistrate John McInnes told the court Hayes had allegedly been behaving “in a way which was causing a disturbance, or in a provocative way”.

The behaviour involved the girlfriend of Joyce’s brother.

The court heard Joyce allegedly ran towards Hayes and shoved him “with force,”.

Hayes fell, hitting his head on the bitumen driveway at the front of the hotel. Witnesses say they could hear the smack of his head from 20 metres away.

Although semi-conscious and able to place himself on an ambulance stretcher, Hayes suffered a brain bleed and skull fracture from which he would not recover.

Police prosecutor Leon Casey opposed bail due to the serious nature of the offence, with charges likely to be upgraded to more serious charges if Hayes were to die as a result of his injuries.

Joyce isn’t new to the court system, having breached bail conditions relating to previous charges laid in 2018.

He also has a history of failure to appear in court.

Lawyer, Katie Wolff told the court Joyce would be supported by his mother and brother, who would help ensure he met his bail conditions. This includes reporting to police three times per week.

Joyce was subject to a probation order and a suspended sentence at the time of the offence. He had recently served nine months in prison for attempted child abduction.

“If the victim does survive, nonetheless it’s a serious example of grievous bodily harm for which even a first offender would likely get some imprisonment,” McInnes said.

“Mr Joyce has a multi-page criminal record with previous sentences both for property offences and for some offences involving violence including assaults.”

Mr McInnes refused bail, with Joyce to appear again before Bundaberg Magistrates Court on August 8.

Jonathan Jackson, 26^th June 2023