The case of a WA businessman who suffered serious head injuries in San Francisco last week is shrouded in mystery after local police said they had no evidence to suggest he’d been assaulted.
Grain Producers Australia chief executive Colin Bettles — a former journalist and media advisor to former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack — was found with injuries to his head and eye socket on July 4 while travelling on a work trip to the US.
He was rushed to the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Centre where he was placed in the intensive care unit and induced into a coma for five days.
He has since woken from the coma and is talking.
Friends, family and business colleagues have previously said they believed — based on the information from police — that Mr Bettles was bashed and mugged late at night during his walk back to his hotel from dinner.
But in a statement issued on Friday to The West Australian, the San Francisco Police Department said they had now had no evidence to suggest that was the case.
“San Francisco Police officers have worked diligently on the case to find Bettles and to investigate how he was injured, including seeking witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage,” the statement said.
“SFPD reviewed surveillance video from the scene and found no indication that Bettles was assaulted or the victim of a crime. He was in possession of his property at the hospital.”
The statement added Mr Bettles was found on the 1000 block of Market Street shortly after 11pm on July 4.
Paramedics transported him to San Francisco General Hospital.
![Colin Bettles with former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack (to his right).](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/53f9da2362467f1b4fcabf4c54a9ac89b19aed24.jpg)
“SFPD wishes Mr Bettles a speedy recovery,” the statement concluded.
Speaking to The West Australian on Thursday, GPA board member Andrew Weidemann said Mr Bettles had awoken from an induced coma last night after several days. He said he was conscious and talking.
“He’s out of a coma but he is still in hospital and we’re waiting on a neurologist report to see how his recovery is going to be,” Mr Weidemann said.
Mr McCormack, who played an integral role in finding Mr Bettles in hospital, previously said his friend and former colleague had “quite serious injuries consistent with being mugged.”
“He has a gash down the back of his head and bruising on the inside of his arms — which is consistent with being stomped on, is what police said,” Mr McCormack said on Thursday.
On Friday, after being sent a copy of the SFPD’s statement, Mr McCormack said, although he was not disputing the police department’s latest findings, he would be requesting — via the Australian Federal Police — that they carry out further inquiries into the matter.
“I am not disputing for a moment what the police department have said in this media release, but there have been so many odd things in relation to this matter it is starting to really puzzle me and trouble me,” Mr McCormack said.
“I will be asking our AFP officers (in the US) to continue to investigate.
“The AFP are going to insist they (the San Francisco Police Department) do some further investigations.
“If you have a blow to the front of the head and a blow to the back of the head, chances are someone has hit you. He had a broken eye socket no less and a gash down the back of his head.
“These things just don’t happen when you fall over and hit the kerb.”