Councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden was charged with homicide after police have been known as to a disturbance at a residence in Arundel about 3pm on Wednesday.
Emergency providers discovered a 58-year-old man contained in the property who was declared lifeless.
Police allege the person died of asphyxiation.
Bayldon-Lumsden was arrested on the scene.
The councillor didn’t seem because the cost was talked about in Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Lawyer Jason Murakami entered a plea of not responsible on the councillor’s behalf.
“I am instructed to enter a plea of not guilty to the charge,” Murakami advised the court docket.
Murakami mentioned his shopper had no legal historical past and an software for bail is anticipated to be lodged on Thursday to be heard within the Brisbane Supreme Court as quickly as doable.
The matter was adjourned for point out on September 8.
Outside the court docket, Murakami confirmed his shopper would contest the cost, amid claims of home violence in opposition to a number of members of the family.
It is known the sufferer was the long-term de facto associate of the councillor’s mom.
The first-time councillor was elected in 2020, changing into the youngest councillor within the metropolis’s historical past.
The former schoolteacher had been dwelling together with his mom and on the Arundel deal with, based on neighbours.
“My first fear was something had happened to Ryan because he is a beautiful, beautiful person, so I was hoping nothing happened to him,” one neighbour advised the ABC.
“He would be the one I know the most. He’s very active in the community in a really, really lovely way. Everyone knows and loves him.
“He was very lively in his sister’s upbringing … all the time mowing the lawns, all the time the one tending to the home.”
The charges have rocked Gold Coast City Council, with fellow councillors stunned by the reports.
“This is an entire shock,” one told AAP on Thursday.
“He was all the time very respectful, very quiet. He’s a stunning man who simply needed to symbolize his group.
“We are in total shock that this has happened.”
Gold Coast City Council has declined to remark.
Source: www.9news.com.au
