THE FAMILY of an Irish father-of-two who died after a screwdriver pierced his skull following an argument with a fisherman in Perth have hit out at the Australian Justice system.
32-year-old Charlie McCarthy suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was struck in the head with a screwdriver on Saturday, December 23rd, 2017 in East Fremantle.
The father-of-two, who worked as a cable layer in Perth, was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries - just two days before Christmas.
He had been walking along Riverside Road in East Fremantle with his wife Nicole and a friend when he was involved in an altercation with a passer-by in the early hours of the morning.
Local fisherman Andrew Doan, 34, was originally charged with Mr McCarthy's manslaughter, but the charge was later upgraded to murder.
Doan was subsequently found not guilty of murder as well as the lesser charge of manslaughter in a trial that took place in Australia earlier this month.
Charlie’s sister, Sinead, was present for the trial along with several of his siblings and admitted to the Irish Daily Mail that the outcome "brought no sense of closure for my parents, my siblings or Charlie’s wife".
“Australia doesn’t have a justice system, in my opinion, they have a legal system- and that is what one of the detectives on the case told me,” she said.
“The verdict of not guilty has brought no sense of closure for my parents, my siblings or Charlie’s wife.”
Sinead was particularly angered by the way her brother had been depicted as “a typical Irishman drinking in Australia,” she said.
“The honest truth was that he rarely went out; he might have a few craft beers at home.
“It’s been extremely hurtful for the Australian media to stereotype our brother and to say that it was a drunken Irishman who died.”
During the trial, Doan provided a detailed version of events surround his confrontation with McCarthy.
The defendant described how events unfolded he was coming back from a fishing trip with friend Tien Vu Huynh in the early hours of December 23rd, 2017.
McCarthy, who was passing by with his wife Nicole and their friend Jason Mikel Curran, spoke to Doan as he and Huynh emerged from the water.
According to Doan, they asked, "Have you caught much?" to which he replied, “not much”.
“Bit of s*** luck” came the response, before adding another comment that apparently sparked the confrontation, said to be along the lines of the "fisheries are going to come and get you".
Doan and Huynh, who are both Asian, reportedly saw the comment as a racist remark, adhering to a stereotype that suggested "all Asians catch undersize fish".
Though McCarthy and his group walked off, the fisherman began to follow them and a verbal argument ensued.
Charles McCarthy, 32, died in Perth just two days before last Christmas (Image: Facebook)Things then began to escalate when, according to Doan, McCarthy returned to confront him.
Reacting with panic he produced a screwdriver and threatened to stab the Cork man.
It was then that the incident occurred with Doan claiming McCarthy charged and moved to punch him, ending up impaled on the screwdriver Doan was holding.
Doan, who claims to have had his eyes closed at McCarthy came close to him, remained at the scene, telling police “it was me” and arguing self-defence.
He is now set to be released from prison having spent over a year in remand awaiting trial.
McCarthy first moved to Australia in 2000 and was originally from Upper Aghada in east Cork.
