EXCLUSIVE
A top lawyer and her boyfriend split and got back together just weeks before he allegedly bludgeoned her to death in a five-star hotel.
The body of Alice Rose McShera was found in a suite at Crown Towers in Perth at around 11am on Monday after the 34-year-old was allegedly beaten to death with a blunt object by her boyfriend, Cameron John Pearson.
Pearson, 42, faced the Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with murder.
On Wednesday, his sister Jessica Pearson had tears in her eyes as she told Ny Breaking Australia the situation was “terrible” but explained her family did not want to comment on the tragedy.
It can now be revealed that Ms McShera and Pearson have been together since January when she represented him during a custody battle over his daughter, who is now almost two.
On Wednesday, Jessica Pearson, the accused killer’s sister, had tears in her eyes as she told Ny Breaking Australia the situation was “terrible” but explained her family did not want to comment on the tragedy.
The body of Alice Rose McShera (pictured) was found in a suite at Crown Towers in Perth at around 11am on Monday after the 34-year-old was allegedly beaten to death with a blunt object by her boyfriend, Cameron John Pearson.
Ms McShera’s friend, who did not want to be identified, told Ny Breaking Australia the little girl had been in the hotel room with the couple in the hours before Ms McShera’s death.
She explained that the couple were on holiday together in Tasmania in September before they had a ‘big fight’ and broke up.
The friend didn’t know what the argument was about, but said Pearson “stayed away for a while.”
However, the couple rekindled their relationship in October when she asked him to help her move.
Last Thursday they checked into the Crown Towers ahead of a gala organized by the WA Law Society, which was held on Friday evening.
On Sunday, Pearson had custody of his daughter. According to the friend, the The couple returned the child to her grandparents at 5pm, went back to the hotel and Mrs McShera wrote her last Facebook post.
Cameron John Pearson, 42, faced the Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with murder
Last Thursday they checked into the Crown Towers ahead of a gala organized by the WA Law Society, which was held on Friday evening.
“Spending the night before my next surgery… Dom (drinking Perignon champagne), watching old DVDs and loving life,” she wrote above a photo of the suite, which included the bottle of wine and a cot.
Later that evening, a family member called the hotel in desperation, urging staff to contact Ms McShera.
Hotel staff found her body Monday morning. Mr Pearson was taken to hospital with suspected self-inflicted wounds before being charged with murder.
The friend said Mr Pearson’s parents are “devastated”.
He appeared in court on Tuesday, supported by his family.
In Ms McShera’s last 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 had more than ten years of experience as a barrister and barrister and was a member of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Western Australia and the Law Society of Western Australia.
About a half-dozen members of Perth’s legal fraternity sat in the public gallery, showing obvious consternation.
“I hope Cameron remembers what happened because… didn’t even realize he was in court that day,” the friend said.
“He doesn’t know what happened.”
Mr Pearson was not required to enter a plea and twice refused to acknowledge his understanding of the charge, despite speaking to his lawyer Reid Hogan during the proceedings.
Instead, he shrugged in response to Magistrate Stephen Butcher’s questions before being led out of the defendants’ glass dock.
Ms McShera worked mainly in the Family Court and was based at the Murray Chambers in Perth’s CBD, according to her website.
She had over 10 years of experience as a lawyer and attorney 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 and Magistrates Court and previously worked as an associate to a WA Family Court judge.
Ms McShera’s family (pictured) were also seen in the cramped courthouse, along with supporters of both Pearson and Ms McShera