Mark Haymes said he was able to visit his brother while he was in hospital. He was able to open his eyes a couple of times but was unable to speak after the attack and the family lost all hope of recovery before his eventual death.
Haymes was “fun-loving and sociable”, his brother said.Credit: Facebook
Haymes’ death has devastated surfing communities from Wollongong, where he competed in the Rip Curl Shield in the 1980s, to Avalon, where Haymes spent much of his youth and where he started competitive surfing.
An investigation has begun by the homicide squad under Strike Force Flat, with police appealing for anyone with information that could help detectives track down Haymes’ attacker to come forward to northern beaches police.
Police said Haymes’ attacker was likely known to him, and that while the surfer lived locally, it was a friend’s flat that he was visiting at the time of the assault. The alarm was raised by witnesses who were outside the unit at the time of the attack, but heard suspicious noises.
“The police will continue to investigate this until we resolve the matter, we will not leave any stone unturned and we will continue to follow every lead that we get,” Detective Superintendent Patrick Sharkey said.
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