Young Perth doctor faces manslaughter charge over 63-year-old’s death on South Terrace
Updated ,first published
A young Perth doctor is facing manslaughter charges over the death of a 63-year-old man in Fremantle in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Christian Jack Joseph, 26, appeared in Perth Magistrates’ Court on Sunday, still wearing his blue forensic overalls, a day after he was arrested after emergency services were called to South Terrace to find the elderly man unresponsive. He later died at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
The court heard Joseph, who lives in Crawley, had been at a friend’s house before drinking at a nearby venue and when they returned he saw the 63-year-old standing at the home’s boundary fence looking into a room.
They shouted at the man, chased him, and Joseph pinned him to the ground for almost two minutes before suffocating.
The court was told that realizing the man had lost consciousness, Joseph, a junior doctor at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, began first aid, including CPR, and told his friend to call triple zero.
Prosecutors said there was no indication of what the man was doing when Joseph and his friend confronted him and that he just appeared to be looking through the fence to the window. The incident was recorded on CCTV, the court was told.
Joseph’s lawyer told the court his client acted in self-defence and was afraid of the “scary” old man.
He told the court there was no information yet as to why the 63-year-old man became unresponsive so quickly.
He said Joseph dedicated his life to saving lives and maintained his desire to help when the situation became serious.
The bail application and request for Joseph’s identity to be kept secret at least until his next appearance were rejected.
The judge said the circumstances were too serious to grant bail and, in refusing the suppression order, said justice must remain open: “Any news would be alarming for the defendant, but I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for his name to be suppressed.”
Joseph will next appear at Stirling Gardens Magistrates’ Court on August 5.
