Gay murder accused �wanted talk�

A father of four accused of murdering a man in a public toilet told a jury he kicked open the cubicle door to tell the men inside to stop scaring his children.

Mark Taylor claims he only wanted to talk to the gay men at Middle Swan Reserve when he forced open the door in November 2013.

Mr Taylor and his acquaintance Daniel Wade Jones are on trial in the Supreme Court, accused of fatally bashing Warren Gerard Batchelor at the park.

Prosecutor Bruno Fiannaca said the incident was a vigilante attack, arguing the pair wanted to scare gay men away from the area.

But Mr Taylor, who was camping at the park with his children, said he followed the men into the toilet on his own so he could tell them to stop scaring his "four babies".

He said his family had been harassed and verbally abused at the park, leaving him worried for his children's safety.

"My kids were petrified," he said. "I was worried. I didn't know what was going to happen."

Mr Taylor admitted a fist fight with the other man in the toilet but said he did not touch Mr Batchelor.

He said he heard banging when he was in the cubicle and turned to find Mr Jones standing behind him with a 60cm wooden club.

Mr Taylor blamed Mr Jones for bashing Mr Batchelor after he followed the other man out.

Under cross-examination, he said he was not disgusted that gay men met there to have sex but described their actions as not normal.

"I didn't know it was where all the gays went and had sex," he said.

"I didn't go there in a rage, I went there to talk."

Mr Batchelor had serious head injuries and died a few days after being bashed. He briefly regained consciousness at the park but collapsed as he ran to his car.

Neuropathologist Vicki Fabian said it was not uncommon for people with head injuries to move 80-100m before collapsing. She said Mr Batchelor's brain was bulging and had shifted because of swelling.

Mr Jones, who denies involvement in Mr Batchelor's death, chose not to testify at the trial.