Community mourns allegedly murdered fisherman, accused killer faces court

A community in Melbourne’s south-east is mourning the loss of a beloved fisherman after his accused killer faced court.

Andres Pancho, 45, was allegedly murdered at Frankston Pier yesterday morning.

The father-of-three’s body was discovered by police about 6am and a 36-year-old man was arrested shortly after.

Flowers have been laid at the site by both friends and strangers, as a police investigation continues.

“My wife and I thought it was something we could do, come down and pay our respects,” one fisherman Andy Bell told 9News Melbourne.

“It’s very quiet down here, obviously now a very different scene from what was here yesterday.”

Forrest Stevenson faced court briefly today charged with one count of murder.

The magistrate asked for Stevenson, who is homeless and a self-proclaimed amateur artist, to be seen by a nurse. The reason was not revealed.

It is understood Pancho didn’t know his alleged attacker and the ambush was unprovoked.

“He was just a mad fisherman, he loved coming down here all the time,” fisherman Glenn Cooper said.

“He probably would have felt safe, ’cause very rarely do you have anyone hassling you on the pier when you’re fishing.”

Detectives returned to the scene and discovered a knife ditched in a nearby bin.

It will be forensically examined to determine whether it belongs to the alleged killer.

The 36-year-old was remanded and will face court in November.