A man accused of killing his "soulmate" has been committed for trial in the ACT Supreme Court after trying to fast-track committal proceedings because he considered the murder charge against him as "absurd" and one "he knows he is not guilty of".
Michael O'Connell, in his early 40s, appeared via phone in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to murder.
Alleged facts tendered to the court state that in April, he was at his partner's premises in Melba where they argued for nearly one hour before he got into a Mitsubishi Triton.
His partner, Danielle Jordan who is also known as Danielle Patricia Fleming, then jumped on the bonnet as he drove off.
Another woman, an associate of his partner who was with the pair, walked in front of the ute to try to stop it but had to take evasive action.
A short time later, she heard "a loud screech of tyres then a loud thump".
She ran towards the noise and saw O'Connell picking up his partner's body, "with blood covering both of them" and "a pool of blood" on the ground.
The defendant then took his partner to the emergency department at Calvary Public Hospital with CCTV capturing her appearing "to be limp and unresponsive".
His partner was transferred to Canberra Hospital's intensive care unit where examinations determined she was unlikely to survive from the catastrophic head injury.
O'Connell, who the court previously heard worked full-time at a country club, was arrested at the Canberra Hospital before he told police he "had saved her".
He said that during his attempted getaway, he stopped and exited the Triton before his partner jumped on the rear tray then fell.
During his latest court session on Tuesday, the application for committal was made with the prosecution's consent.
After special magistrate Margaret Hunter told him the case was "now committed for trial", O'Connell replied with "perfect".
In September, O'Connell faced delays to speeding up the committal process because of the delay of evidence.
Defence lawyer Edward Chen applied to commit the matter for trial and to do so without committal proceedings and without the prosecution's consent.
He said O'Connell, who was initially charged with manslaughter, considered the murder charge "absurd" and was one "he knows he is not guilty of".
"He never intended to kill a person he described as a soulmate," he said.
The case is listed before the Supreme Court on October 20 for an administrative hearing.
