Charges over Gold Coast heroin 'hotshot' death of Tyler Smith

by: Greg Stolz  From: The Courier-Mail  January 23, 2012 4:42PM

POLICE have arrested a second person for manslaughter over the suspected heroin "hotshot'' death of a man in a Gold Coast motel room three-and-a-half years ago.

Detectives said today they had charged a Currumbin Waters woman, 31, over the death of 20-year-old Tyler Smith in August 2008.

Last week, officers from the Gold Coast's new Serious and Violent Crime Squad charged a 24-year-old man with Mr Smith's manslaughter.

The squad, launched last year in the wake of a violent crime wave on the Glitter Strip, has been reviewing his death among other unsolved crimes.

Police regional crime co-co-ordinator Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson said investigations into Mr Smith's death were now finalised.

"These arrests demonstrate the commitment of the Queensland Police Service ... to thoroughly investigate serious criminal offences,'' he said.

"Unsolved cases are never closed and police will continue to review outstanding matters of a serious nature.''

The woman charged with Mr Smith's manslaughter is expected to face Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.