A man on court orders not to contact his partner caused her death when she suffered a catastrophic head injury falling from his ute before he tried to cover his tracks and claim he "had saved her", prosecutors allege.
Michael O'Connell, 42, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday charged with manslaughter, culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm and three counts of perverting the course of justice.
The Monash man, who the court heard was a full-time groundskeeper, did not enter pleas during his audio-visual link appearance but denied some of the alleged facts during a police interview.
A prosecution document tendered to the court states that about 4am on April 15, he was at his partner's premises - allegedly in breach of bail conditions not to contact her - in Melba where they argued for nearly one hour before he jumped 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.
The defendant then allegedly reversed and revved the vehicle, then accelerated, prompting the woman on the road to take evasive action.
A short time later, the woman, who later told police that both O'Connell and his partner appeared to be under the influence of drugs, heard "a loud screech of tyres then a loud thump".
She later described it as "sounding like something heavy, like a body, hitting the road'," the prosecution document states.
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".
Later that morning, O'Connell allegedly sent a text message to the mother of his partner's associate, saying his partner "fell from the top of her back steps".
He then went back to the Melba premises where he allegedly told the associate to say his partner fell down the back stairs if police asked.
"The defendant then changed his clothes, putting his blood-stained clothes in the vehicle, and [allegedly] injected about half a point of methylamphetamine before leaving the location," the prosecution document states.
His partner was transferred to the Canberra Hospital's intensive care unit where examinations determined she was unlikely to survive from the catastrophic head injury.
Police later that day went to the scene and saw "a dried pool of what appeared to be blood, as well as a trail of blood droplets on the road".
O'Connell was arrested at the Canberra Hospital before he told police he "had saved her".
"She fell down the stairs so I took her to hospital," he is accused of saying.
He told police in an interview that he was aware of breaching court orders when he went to his partner's place and denied consuming any illicit substances or alcohol that night.
He said they had an argument because he wanted to leave because of concerns he was breaching orders.
O'Connell said during his attempted getaway, he stopped and exited the Triton before his partner jumped on the rear tray then fell.
He said he told people she fell down a set of stairs to protect her reputation and denied driving the vehicle while she was on the bonnet or any part of the vehicle.
He also said he told Calvary staff that she fell down the stairs at her residence.
The court on Monday heard that life support for O'Connell's partner was turned off overnight.
Magistrate James Stewart refused bail for him, saying there was a "real risk of further interference" to the proceedings because the defendant's alleged attempts "to shore up his alternative version".
"It's clear that bail conditions would not be complied with if I imposed them," Mr Stewart said.
"To put it very simply, if bail conditions had been complied with, he would never have been within 100m of the deceased person and would never have been charged with the [fresh] offences.
"[If] he couldn't comply with family violence bail, he won't be able to comply with any conditions that I put in place."
Mr Stewart said the allegation of illicit substance use after taking his partner to hospital also "has a role to play in terms of risks in this bail application".
O'Connell was remanded in custody and the case is set for a May 3 return.
Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
-
ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service: 6280 0900
- 1800-RESPECT: 1800 737 732.
