A top barrister was allegedly beaten to death with a ‘blunt instrument’, as it emerged her family made a desperate last call to the five-star hotel where she spent her final night.
The body of 34-year-old family law barrister Alice Rose McShera was found at Crown Towers Perth, in Burswood, on Monday morning.
Ms McShera’s boyfriend Cameron John Pearson, 42, fronted Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with her murder.
WA Police Inspector Geoff Desanges told reporters on Tuesday that Ms McShera’s family had made a desperate attempt to get hold of her on the night she died.
‘A family member who was seeking to get hold of one of the people in that room had spoken to Crown Towers,’ he said.
The body of 34-year-old family law barrister Alice Rose McShera (pictured) was found at Crown Towers Perth , in Burswood, on Monday morning
Ms McShera’s boyfriend Cameron John Pearson (pictured), 42, fronted Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with her murder
Inspector DeSanges said that a member of the hotel’s security staff then visited the room where they found Ms McShera allegedly suffering head injuries consistent with a ‘blunt instrument’.
‘The lady had obviously serious injuries through head trauma and the male had injuries that we believe were self-inflicted so it would have been an extremely confronting scene,’ Inspector DeSanges said.
Her death came just hours after she shared a post on Facebook about her hotel stay, telling friends she was ‘spending the night before my next surgery… drinking Dom (Perignon champagne), watching old dvds and loving life’.
It is unclear what surgery she was referring to.
She also thanked her best friend for the hotel stay, a fellow lawyer she referred to as ‘Lawyer of the Year’.
In the post, Ms McShera shared an image of the inside of the hotel room with a bottle of champagne, wine glasses, a beer and Powerade bottle seen on top of a table in front of a TV.
Ms McShera allegedly suffered head injuries consistent with a ‘blunt instrument’
In Ms McShera’s final social media post, she said she was ‘spending the night before my next surgery…drinking Dom (Perignon champagne), watching old dvds and loving life’
Ms McShera’s best friend Elsa Constant (pictured) said on Wednesday she had become concerned about her in recent weeks and had reached out
Ms McShera met Pearson after she took him on as a client through her work as a family barrister at a boutique law firm. They struck up a relationship in January, 9News reported.
Pearson was allegedly found in the hotel room by police and had suffered what are believed to be self-inflicted injuries.
He was taken to hospital before making his court appearance and will await his next appearance in Stirling Magistrates Court on November 22 while remanded in custody.
The small courtroom was packed with media and emotional family members and supporters of both Pearson and Ms McShera on Tuesday.
About half a dozen members of Perth’s legal fraternity sat in the public gallery showing obvious distress.
Pearson was not required to enter a plea and twice refused to acknowledge that he understood the charge despite speaking with his lawyer Reid Hogan during the proceedings.
He instead shrugged his shoulders in answer to Magistrate Stephen Butcher’s questions before being led out of the glass-walled defendants’ dock.
Ms McShera worked mainly in Family Court and was based at the Murray Chambers in the Perth CBD, according to its website.
She had more than 10 years experience as an advocate and barrister and was a member of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Western Australia and the Law Society of Western Australia.
She has also appeared in the WA Supreme Court of and Magistrates Court and previously worked as an associate to a WA Family Court judge.
Ms McShera’s best friend Elsa Constant said on Wednesday she had become concerned about her in recent weeks and had reached out.
Ms McShera’s family (pictured) were also seen at the cramped courthouse alongside supporters of both Pearson and Ms McShera
‘If your friends tell you that they are concerned about you, please go and see someone,’ Ms Constant said.
McShera was diagnosed with bipolar in 2021 after disappearing for 12 hours while on holiday, 9News reported.
Her father said she was a ‘beautiful, much-loved girl who will be deeply missed’.
In a tribute, Keegan Family Lawyers said: ‘Alice – you were a strong woman, a powerful woman, an amazing barrister and lawyer!
‘You fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. You were a friend, a colleague and someone to aspire to.
Ms McShera was found unresponsive in Perth’s Crown Towers Hotel on Monday alongside Pearson, who had suffered what are believed to be self-inflicted injuries
‘Our community will mourn your loss! You will be so missed. I am so sad.’
The $650million Crown Towers in Perth includes 500 guest rooms and villas and was opened in 2016.
‘We can confirm police responded to an incident at Crown Towers Perth earlier today,’ a spokesperson from Crown Towers said in a brief statement.
‘Our team are assisting WA Police with their investigation, and we are supporting our team members.
‘Any further inquiries should be directed to WA Police.’
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