A man convicted of assaulting his friend during an argument at a pub has walked from a Queensland court despite his mate dying minutes after being struck.

October 31, 2019

A Queensland man convicted of drunkenly assaulting his mate during an argument at a pub has walked from court despite his friend dying minutes after being punched.

Matthew Clancy Ryan, 47, was originally charged with manslaughter and unlawful striking after knocking Nigel Doyle, 69, to the ground at the Kerwick Hotel, near Ipswich, on February 11, 2017.

But on Thursday in the Brisbane Supreme Court, Ryan was sentenced to six months in prison with immediate parole for the lesser charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.

The downgrading of his charges followed a post-mortem examination that found Mr Doyle died from a brain haemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that was unrelated to the blow.

The court heard the two men had been drinking separately at the pub, where they both lived in the accommodation wing above the public bar.

Ryan’s blood-alcohol level was .189 and Mr Doyle’s was .15 when they began arguing after Mr Doyle uncharacteristically accused Ryan of drug use and pedophilia.

“The defendant advised police there had been altercation saying this was the first time Mr Doyle had confronted him such a way and had quote ‘arced up’ and quote ‘come at him’,” prosecutor Clayton Wallace said.

Ryan’s single blow to Mr Doyle’s jaw in response to the allegations caused him to fall back with such force that people in the bar below heard the thud when he crashed into the wall.

The publican and a barman found Mr Doyle alive but slumped against a wall and unconscious.

Minutes later he stopped breathing and was later pronounced dead after paramedics transported him to hospital.

Justice David North empathised with Mr Doyle’s family in the court, saying he understood how they may take the view there was an “unfortunate unreality” about the sentence delivered.

“But legal evidence has come to light relatively recently from experienced pathologists … that it could not be proven that there was physiologically and medically a causal link to the punch you delivered to Mr Doyle’s jaw and his death,” he said.

“Medically and legally you are not responsible for his death,” Justice North said addressing Doyle.

He did, however, tell Ryan he had a choice not to respond to Mr Doyle.

“There was no reason for you to assault that older and smaller man,” he said.

In a letter read to the court, Ryan communicated his distress and remorse at his friend’s death.

“Nigel was my friend. We had an argument and I acted in an inappropriate manner. I should not have hit him. I should have walked away,” he wrote.

“Please find it in your hearts to forgive me as this haunts me in my dreams every night.”