Australian tourist beaten to death in San Francisco

A suspect was in custody Saturday in the fatal beating of an Australian chemist outside a hotel on Van Ness Avenue early Friday.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO - A suspect has been arrested in the death of an Australian tourist who was beaten to death in a scuffle Friday outside a San Francisco hotel.

Matthew Bate, 33, got into an argument with two men that turned physical around 2 a.m. Friday outside the Da Vinci Villa hotel on Van Ness Avenue a few blocks south of Lombard Street.

Bate was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Two men were detained shortly after the fight, but it was unclear whether either of them was the suspect who was arrested.

No weapons were involved in the fight, police said.

Bate lived in Woolner, a suburb of Darwin. He was an analytical chemist with SGS Australia, which offers a range of testing and certification services to businesses.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing Bate's family with consular assistance.

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