Former Labor strategist dies after assault outside nightclub in Perth

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Former Labor strategist Tim Picton has died three weeks after being assaulted outside a Perth nightclub. The 36-year-old had been in hospital in a critical condition since the attack.

Transcript

00:00It's been a very difficult time for the family since Tim Pickton, just 36 years old, was

00:08found unconscious in the early hours of a Saturday morning in Perth's entertainment

00:12district on December 27, just after Christmas.

00:16He was allegedly hit and knocked unconscious and he was taken to hospital with life-threatening

00:22injuries.

00:23Mr. Pickton's family have released a statement just this morning confirming that he has died.

00:29They said they were devastated by the loss of their beloved Tim, who passed away earlier

00:34today surrounded by family.

00:36They described him as a devoted father and loving husband, son, grandson, brother and uncle.

00:44Now Mr. Pickton was a Labor identity.

00:47He was crucial to the 2021 WA Labor state election landslide victory here in WA and more recently

00:57he was a director of strategy for the mining company MinRes here in WA.

01:03Now the alleged attacker who allegedly struck Mr. Pickton, Brodie de Waugh, is 20 years old.

01:10He did front court in December, just a day or two after Mr. Pickton was found unconscious.

01:17And he was charged with grievous bodily harm at the time, but we can expect those charges

01:22to be upgraded now that Mr. Pickton has died.

01:26He was initially granted bail, Mr. de Waugh, after fronting court with some strict conditions,

01:32but he was taken back into custody and taken back to court just last week after being charged

01:38over a separate incident, another assault, where he allegedly struck another man unconscious

01:43around Christmas.

01:45And he's going through court for that case as well.

01:49He's been charged for causing bodily harm in that case too, but that is a separate incident.

01:56We can expect the charges related to Mr. Pickton to be upgraded.

02:00Now Mr. Pickton is the brother of South Australian Health Minister Chris Pickton, and we have just

02:07received a statement as well from the South Australian Premier, Peter Milanaskis, and he says that he's

02:14deeply saddened by the news of the passing.

02:16He said it was a shocking alleged incident, and he's expressed his condolences to Mr. Pickton's

02:24family as well.

02:25He says it must be an unimaginably difficult time for the family as they go through these events

02:32and grieve.

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