One punch killed our boy Mark | Whitsundays Crime | Robberies, Assaults and Convictions in Whitsundays

Mark Urch doing what he loved to do on a Saturday afternoon - playing Texas Hold 'Em poker

CONTRIBUTED

THE mother of manslaughter victim Mark Urch, 29, stood in the foyer of the Mackay Courthouse yesterday and declared: “One punch killed my son”.

The man who threw the fatal punch in a carpark near Banjo's Bar at Airlie Beach on May 24 last year was English backpacker Daniel Dean, 25, and he had just been sentenced to seven years in jail.

“We believe justice has been done,” Mark's mother, Cheryl Robinson, said.

“We know you are running the One Punch Can Kill campaign in Queensland and it's true.

“One punch killed my son.

“Please tell everyone it was just one punch.

“As a community we should stop this senseless violence.

“Nothing will bring my son back. But someone has been held accountable.

“To experience the loss of a child is frightening.”

Mark Urch's father, Robert Urch, said: “We're glad it's over. We'll never get over it.”

Seven members of the Urch family, including Mark's brother Justin, came to Mackay from Melbourne for the three-day trial and they will be going home heartbroken.

The Urch family described Mark as a quiet man. He was tall and thin and was working in the Whitsundays.

He was not a regular drinker and he loved his Saturday afternoon game of Texas Hold 'Em poker.

He had an argument at the poker table with English backpacker Daniel Dean, and the argument continued about 40 minutes later in the beer garden.

The two men went into a nearby carpark and Mark Urch was struck a punch which sent him toppling backwards.

The sound of the punch was so forceful it could be heard by people 20 to 25 metres away.

As Daniel Dean walked off, other people rushed to give Mark Urch first aid including Mark's friend Steven Webster.

The incident happened about 4.45pm on Saturday, May 24, last year and Mark Urch was rushed to the Townsville General Hospital. He never recovered consciousness and died of brain damage on June 1.

Just as Mark Urch had family in court this week, Daniel Dean's mother, Janice, flew from Yorkshire in England to stand by her son.

Janice Dean said after yesterday's sentence: “I don't know what to say. I'm still in shock. He's a good lad.”

It has been recommended that Daniel Dean be released on parole in May, 2011, but he will never walk the streets of Australia again.

On his release from prison he will be driven straight to an international airport and will be immediately deported home to England.

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