Former city councillor to go on trial for alleged murder

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Former gold coast councilor Ryan Bayldon Lumsden will go to trial for the alleged murder of his stepfather in 2023. A committal hearing today heard fresh evidence about what allegedly happened inside home that day, and his internet search history from the day before the deadly argument.

Transcript

00:00Ryan Belden-Lumsden made history when he became the Gold Coast's youngest councillor.

00:07Now, he's the first Queensland politician to face a murder trial.

00:11His defence barrister, Craig Eberhardt, told the Southport Magistrates Court today

00:15his client admitted to choking Robert Lumsden during an argument in the kitchen of their Arundel home in August 2023.

00:22Despite performing CPR, the 58-year-old couldn't be revived.

00:26The defence argued Mr Lumsden was overweight and had heart issues,

00:30saying the million-dollar question was whether he suffered a heart attack.

00:34It's been appropriate for our client to comment at this point, but thanks very much.

00:38The court heard Mr Belden-Lumsden gave police the PIN code to his phone.

00:42Forensic analysis revealed his internet browsing history from the day before

00:46included the webpage for the domestic violence service White Ribbons Helplines,

00:51Google searches for escaping domestic violence and coercive control,

00:55and from a few weeks earlier,

00:57I'm 29 and my father still hits me, what should I do?

01:00A search of Robert Lumsden's phone found his stepson's number was saved as

01:05and his wife, Ryan's mother, was saved as grumpy in his contacts.

01:10Ryan, how did it make you feel when you found out what you were saved as in your stepfather's phone?

01:14He was ordered to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court and was released on bail.

01:19The only words he said during the proceedings were not guilty.

01:23There was no one anymore.

01:25So, he told me that he was going to be approved for the first time of semana,

01:27was he said when he announced that he was in the

01:36morning and early in the morning.

01:39I was not a number one, and I was a number two,

01:41but I regret that he was saying.

01:43I couldn't do it !

01:44Can't do it !

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