Sydney man, 18, arrested over Kelly death

An 18-year-old man has been arrested over the death of Thomas Kelly, who died after being king-hit in Kings Cross earlier this month.

Police arrested the man at a sports field in Belmore in southwestern Sydney about 7.30pm (AEST) on Wednesday and took him to Campsie police station for questioning.

In what police described as a “sickening and unprovoked attack”, Thomas was “king-hit” in the face by a stranger on Saturday July 7 as he walked in Kings Cross with his girlfriend.

Thomas, a trainee accountant who was also 18, was on the phone at the time and collapsed to the ground and hit his head.

The attacker fled, while the teenager was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with severe head injuries.

He died two days later when his family decided to switch off his life support.

After his death, his family – from the NSW Southern Highlands town of Bowral – appealed for anyone with information to contact police, saying Thomas’s death had created an indelible hole.

“We can’t even remember what day it is, we haven’t changed our clothes since we came up from Bowral … it is like being in a hole,” his father Ralph Kelly said.

“We know it’s going to be a massive, massive hole for us.”

Mr Kelly said his son had only just met a girl after having a difficult time in school and that his life was “finally taking off”.

Thomas’s death has sparked renewed calls for compulsory 3am closing and 1.30am lockouts to help curb violence in the notorious nightclub district.

At a community forum in Sydney on Tuesday night, Hospitality Minister George Souris announced that every bar and club in Kings Cross would be audited to try to stamp out anti-social behaviour.

A memorial for Thomas Kelly will be held at The King’s School in Parramatta on Friday.

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