A jury has found a Canberra man guilty of murdering the "love of his life", siding with the prosecution's argument that the woman fell from the bonnet of his car.
Key points:
- Michael O'Connell has been found guilty by a jury of the murder of his partner Danielle Jordan
- O'Connell regularly described Ms Jordan as "the love of his life" but admitted to fighting with her the night she was murdered
- A 13-year-old witness says she heard tyres screeching and then a thud, later seeing Ms Jordan lying on the road
Coombs man, Michael O'Connell, 43, shook his head as the verdict was handed down in the ACT Supreme Court.
O'Connell continued to shake his head as he was led away from the courtroom by corrective services officers.
Danielle Jordan suffered catastrophic injuries when she fell from his car on April 15, she died in hospital two days later.
O'Connell regularly described Ms Jordan as the "love of his life" during the trial but admitted they had a turbulent relationship and had a number of arguments at her Melba apartment in the early hours of April 15.
The court heard he tried to leave her home at 2am but was stopped when Ms Jordan moved onto the bonnet of his ute, something she repeated when he again tried to leave at 4am.
But O'Connell's account differed from the prosecution's key witness, a 13-year-old girl, who was a friend of Ms Jordan and was at her home that night.
She told police she saw the accused driving the car with Ms Jordan on the bonnet.
She said she sprinted after them once they went out of view and heard screeching tyres and a thud.
The court heard when she next saw them the ute was parked and Ms Jordan's body was on the road near the back of the ute.
Her account was that when she arrived at the car the accused said: "I'm sorry, sorry mate I didn't mean to do it".
O'Connell's account was that he drove off in his ute when Ms Jordan got off the bonnet.
"I started driving again not realising she'd jumped on the back," he said.
The court heard he had decelerated when he saw her in his side mirror and got straight out of the car.
The court heard Mr O'Connell told her: "I'm so sorry baby, I love you."
Mr O'Connell then picked up Ms Jordan and put her in the passenger seat and drove her to Calvary Hospital.
The jury was asked to decide whether it was beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Jordan was on the bonnet of the ute when she fatally fell and that O'Connell knew she was there.
The jury retired to reach a verdict on Friday and earlier this week watched back the 13-year-old girl's police interview in court.
O'Connell will be sentenced at a later date.