Man charged with murder over Northern Beaches surfer’s death

A man has been charged with the murder of well-known Northern Beaches surfer, Guy Haymes.

Haymes, 59, known to his friends as “Creature”, died in hospital on March 15 after he was allegedly assaulted in a Pittwater Road unit two weeks earlier.

A 41-year-old man was arrested in Greenacre on Saturday night and charged with murder, two counts of taking or detaining a person with intent to obtain an advantage and two counts of taking or detaining a person occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday.

Haymes was well-known in surfing communities from Wollongong, where he competed in the Rip Curl shield in the 1980s, to Avalon, where he started competitive surfing.

Police have been piecing together what happened to Haymes since they were called to his friend’s unit on Pittwater Road on February 27, after several witnesses outside the flat raised the alarm.

He was alive, with serious head injuries, when emergency services arrived at the building. His brother, Mark Haymes, visited him in hospital during his final weeks, but although he was able to open his eyes he never spoke again before he died.

Police suspected his attacker was known to him.

Calling on the attacker to come forward earlier this week, Mark Haymes described his brother as “a kind-hearted soul who wouldn’t hurt anyone”.

“He loved to have a good time,” Mark Haymes said. “He had a great sense of humour, was always looking at the fun side of life. Just a nice person.”