A man facing charges of negligent manslaughter dramatically left a courtroom scene after his request to have the charges dismissed was denied by the magistrate. John Torney, 41, was attending the hearing via video link from prison when Magistrate Stephen Ballek ruled that he must stand trial for the death of Emma Bates.
The decision prompted Torney to abruptly exit the video link room, refusing to participate in the formal committal proceedings. During this process, he was expected to be formally cautioned and to enter a plea of not guilty.
In his ruling, Magistrate Ballek stated that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to potentially find that Torney had a duty of care towards Bates and had breached this duty by failing to call for medical assistance.
The court heard that Torney and Bates were living together in a domestic partnership, with Torney having access to the home and both referring to one another as boyfriend and girlfriend. Magistrate Ballek highlighted that Torney was aware of Bates’ type 1 diabetes and her reliance on a glucose monitoring app to manage her condition.
The magistrate said Torney and Bates had been living together as domestic partners, noting he had a key to the house and they had described each other as boyfriend-girlfriend.
Torney knew Bates had type 1 diabetes and that she monitored her condition through a glucose monitoring app on her phone, Ballek said.
It’s alleged Torney threw a glucose tester at Bates when he found her moaning the day after he’s accused of assaulting her.
He then left the home and went to the pokies instead of calling an ambulance, Ballek noted.
“The accused chose to simply desert her,” he told the court.
The magistrate said there was evidence of a sufficient weight for the case to go to trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.
He briefly left the bench so the parties could organise dates for the next hearing but when he returned, Torney had left his video link room.
Rattray asked Ballek for time to speak to his client, emphasising it was unclear whether Torney understood he was required to attend for the committal process.
Ballek allowed the adjournment, with the case to return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on November 27.
Outside court, Bates’ sister Cassandra Searle told reporters she was relieved Torney had been ordered to stand trial.
Torney was in 2016 acquitted of murdering a toddler, after the two-year-old girl’s beaten body was discovered in the roof cavity of a Mildura house.
