2 Irish men charged with Sydney murder

SYDNEY, Australia – Two Irish men have faced a Sydney court charged with the murder of a man they allegedly assaulted last month.

Christopher McLaughlin and Nathan Kelly were initially charged with reckless grievous bodily harm after police found 66-year-old Paul Tavelardis injured on a roadside in the Sydney suburb of Summer Hill on Dec. 29.

The charges were upgraded to murder after Tavelardis died in a hospital on Monday.

The 24-year-old McLaughlin and 21-year-old Kelly, from Glengad in Ireland’s north, have been in custody since their arrests on the night of incident. Both appeared via video link when their case was heard in Sydney’s Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.

They did not apply for bail, and will remain in custody until their next court appearance on March 6.