A regional NSW town has been devastated by the alleged murder of a beloved Elvis impersonator.
Bernie Peri, 75, was found dead in his Parkes home on Sunday afternoon, allegedly killed by 28-year-old Marshall Karaitiana.
Police arrested Karaitiana on Tuesday evening in Tullamore, about 100km north-west of Parkes, and charged him with murder.
The musician was a staple of the central-west NSW town’s annual Elvis Festival since its inception in 1993, with Parkes Shire councillor Ken McGrath saying locals were devastated by his death.
“He came to the festival and we just got on like a house on fire, he made such a big contribution,” he said.
Peri moved to Australia from New Zealand and lived in Parkes for more than 15 years, McGrath said.
“He was a top bloke — the sort of bloke you couldn’t have an argument with,” he said.
Representatives of the Royal Hotel, which Peri frequented, were too upset to offer comment when asked on Wednesday afternoon.
On its Facebook page, pub management described him as a “beloved friend”.
Karaitiana faced Lake Cargelligo Local Court on Wednesday to answer his single charge of murder.
He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.
Parkes’s annual festival, which coincides with the King of Rock’n’Roll’s birthday — 8 January — typically attracts about 25,000 people to the farming town and brings in around $13 million.
It was founded to draw visitors during the traditionally quiet summer period.
