Anas Abdulfatah: 36-year-old man charged with murder over Fitzroy Gardens death

A man has been charged with murder following the death of a 52-year-old man in Melbourne’s inner east.

Emergency services were called to Fitzroy Gardens about 6.50am on Monday after a physical altercation occurred between two men.

A 52-year-old Ringwood man was treated at the scene but died shortly after, while a 36-year-old man of no fixed address was taken into custody at the gardens.

On Monday evening, police confirmed the man had been charged with one count of murder after allegedly fatally assaulting the 52-year-old.

A lawyer acting for Anas Abdulfatah appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning, advising the court that she had been told her client was “too unwell” to appear in court.

“Mr Abdulfatah is currently not present on the link,” Nadia Giorgianni said.

“I’ve been advised he is too unwell to be brought into the video room.”

Ms Giorgianni noted that her client suffered from significant mental health conditions.

Prosecutors filed an application for a court order to force Mr Abdulfatah to undergo “compulsory examination”, which was granted by the presiding magistrate.

Mr Abdulfatah was initially taken to hospital under police guard on Monday morning while police confirmed they were “not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident”.

Prosecutors asked the court for an extension of time to hand their case documents to Mr Abdulfatah’s lawyers, saying extra time was needed for the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to provide a report into the cause of death.

Mr Abdulfatah, of no fixed address, was remanded into custody after no application for bail was filed.

Examinations of the scene were under way throughout the morning, with police forensics examining the pond at the gardens as part of their investigation.

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An area of the gardens close to the pond and fountain had seemingly been cordoned off while police remained at the scene late into the morning.

Mr Abdulfatah will return to court in December.

Police have urged any witnesses or anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward or to contact Crime Stoppers.

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