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A man facing charges of negligent manslaughter made a dramatic exit after a magistrate declined to dismiss the case against him.
John Torney, aged 41, participated in the proceedings via a video link from prison as Magistrate Stephen Ballek in Melbourne ruled that Torney must face trial for the death of Emma Bates.
He abruptly left the video link area and did not return for the formal committal process. During this procedure, he was anticipated to receive a caution and enter a plea of not guilty.
Throughout the hearing, Torney was seen shaking his head repeatedly. Magistrate Ballek concluded there was enough evidence to potentially convict Torney of negligent manslaughter.
Torney’s charges relate to the death of Bates, whose body was discovered at her home in Cobram, near the border of New South Wales and Victoria, on April 23, 2024.
She was allegedly struck to the head by Torney in the days before but a forensic pathologist determined diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition involving high sugar levels, likely caused her death.
Prosecutors told the court Torney still owed Bates a duty of care and he should have called an ambulance when he realised she was not well.
But Torney’s barrister Hayden Rattray argued a jury could not find Torney owed her that legal duty because they were not in a de facto relationship.
It was also unclear when Bates started experiencing the ketoacidosis so it could not be said Torney’s failure to call an ambulance led to her death, Rattray said.
Ballek rejected those submissions yesterday, ruling a properly instructed jury could find Torney owed a duty of care to Bates and he breached that duty by not calling an ambulance.
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.