Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Bouncer found guilty of murdering NZ musician

Updated at 6:12 am on 21 June 2012

An Australian court has found a former bouncer guilty of murdering New Zealand musician Andrew Marshall by pushing him out of a second-storey pub window.

A West Australian Supreme Court jury delivered a guilty verdict against Stefan Pahia Schmidt, 26, late on Wednesday after an eight-day trial.

Mr Marshall, 29, was the cousin of Feilding farmer Scott Guy who was shot dead in 2010. Scott Guy's brother-in-law Ewen Macdonald is on trial in Wellington charged with his murder.

Schmidt appeared surprised by the verdict, holding his head in his hands and crying as the jury left the court. AAP reports.

He had not denied pushing Andrew Marshall, 29, through the window of the Ocean Beach Hotel in Perth's upmarket coastal suburb of Cottesloe in May 2011, but had pleaded not guilty, saying the death was an accident as he only meant to push Mr Marshall out of the way.

Mr Marshall's family travelled from New Zealand to Perth for the trial.

His father Alan said they sought answers about their son's final hours and death, and to honour their treasured family member.

"It has been gruelling and harrowing, at times more than we could bear, " he told reporters outside court.

"We don't want to be bitter and waste our energy with regrets and grudges - that would be just punishing ourselves over and over - but we do want to send a strong message that violence is unacceptable and intolerable."

A trained boxer and kickboxer, Schmidt had testified that Mr Marshall got in his way at the pub as he tried to tell two girls he knew to "go home".

Prosecutor Amanda Forrester, during her jury address, said any reasonable person - not to mention a former crowd controller with fight experience - would have known the dangers of pushing a man standing in front of a second-storey window.

Defence lawyer Tom Percy said both the victim and the accused were desperately unlucky.

Schmidt faces a life jail sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for September.

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