NSW police charge two after man dies after serious assault at Ballina

A man has been extradited to NSW and charged with murder following the alleged serious assault of another man on the state’s far north coast earlier this month.

About 5pm on Saturday 5 February 2022, emergency services were called to Holden Lane, Ballina, after reports a man had been found unconscious.

NSW Ambulance paramedics attended and treated the 54-year-old man for serious head injuries.

He was taken to Lismore Base Hospital in a critical condition; however, died the following day (Sunday 6 February 2022).

Officers from Richmond Police District – assisted by the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad – established Strike Force Bolar to investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s death and how he came to be injured.

Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives – with the assistance of detectives from Queensland Police Service Far North District and the Homicide Unit – arrested a 50-year-old man in Cairns last Friday (18 February 2022).

He was taken to Cairns Watchhouse and remanded in custody.

Strike force detectives travelled to Queensland, where they applied for and were granted his extradition to NSW.

He was taken to Tweed Heads Police Station yesterday (Monday 21 February 2022) and charged with murder.

The man was refused bail to appear at Lismore Local Court today (Tuesday 22 February 2022).

About 9.35am yesterday (Monday 21 February 2022), police executed a search warrant at a Ballina home, where they arrested a 44-year-old woman.

She was taken to Ballina Police Station and charged with accessory after the fact to murder and contravene AVO (DV).

The woman was refused bail to appear at Byron Bay Local Court today (Tuesday 22 February 2022).

Police will allege in court the 54-year-old was seriously assaulted inside a unit on Tamar Street, before exiting the unit and losing consciousness on Holden Lane.

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