Michael O’Connell was found guilty of manslaughter after killing his partner. Photo: Facebook.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to family violence.
A killer’s attempt to blame his victim reflected his lack of remorse, a prosecutor argued when the man faced court for the second time to be sentenced for killing his partner.
Earlier this year, the ACT Court of Appeal cleared Michael O’Connell of murder over the death of his partner Danielle Patricia Fleming, also known as Danielle Jordan.
But he was still found to have killed her when the court ordered that he be found guilty of manslaughter.
On 15 April 2022, O’Connell drove his car in Melba for about 30 seconds while his on-and-off-again partner, Ms Jordan, was on top of it.
The 40-year-old then fell and landed on the road, resulting in a fatal head injury.
Her 45-year-old killer returned to the ACT Supreme Court for a sentencing hearing on the manslaughter charge on Monday (3 November), where the court heard from Ms Jordan’s mother.
She talked about the impact the appeal had on her family, remarking how Ms Jordan’s young daughter couldn’t understand why the process wasn’t finished.
“I need this to come to an end,” the mother said.
“Michael does not deserve my sympathy.
“At the moment, I can’t even breathe.”
Prosecutor Katie McCann said the seriousness of a manslaughter charge was particularly difficult to assess as it was a crime committed in a varying range of circumstances, but she argued O’Connell’s crime was a serious example of the offence.
She claimed he drove with Ms Jordan on the bonnet of his vehicle, intending that she fall off or be dislodged, and argued the court would find he would have appreciated the harm he placed her in.
“The nature of this particular offence, for the victim, would have been extremely terrifying,” Ms McCann said.
She said he previously stalked a different woman in 2021, and at the time of Ms Jordan’s death, had been on bail to not contact her or return to her home.
Ms Jordan had been trying to stop O’Connell from leaving her house before he drove off with her on his bonnet, but Ms McCann reminded the court that he had chosen to go to her home, even though bail conditions were in place to protect her.
The prosecutor argued he hadn’t shown remorse and that the court would have serious concerns that he presented a risk in a family violence context.
“The lack of accountability, the victim blaming … would give rise to significant concerns,” she argued.
Barrister Kylie Weston-Scheuber said her client had spent the last three-and-a-half years in custody, which was a significant period on remand.
She argued he had no intention to kill or cause serious harm to Ms Jordan, hadn’t used his vehicle as a weapon, didn’t inflict any physical violence himself and hadn’t planned the offence.
“His focus was simply on trying to leave,” she said.
He also immediately expressed concern after Ms Jordan fell off his car and took her straight to hospital, the barrister said.
Dr Weston-Scheuber said since going into custody, her client had been of good behaviour, worked in the kitchen and as a groundskeeper, and had the strong support of his father as well as his new girlfriend.
She said her client did not accept responsibility for killing Ms Jordan and noted he still had appeals underway in the matter.
Justice Belinda Baker reserved her decision and will hand down her sentence at a future date.
O’Connell was found guilty of murder at the end of a jury trial and was sentenced to 15 years’ jail in 2024.
But this year, the Court of Appeal set aside the jury’s guilty verdict, as well as O’Connell’s jail sentence, and ordered that he be found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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