Judge grants prosecution application for alleged killer dad Shane Wanganeen’s case to be heard in Supreme Court

A father accused of neglecting his sick son who died of pneumonia will have his case heard in the state’s highest court.

A father accused of neglecting his sick son who died of pneumonia will have his case heard in the state’s highest court, after prosecutors argued the gravity of his alleged offending was too serious to be heard anywhere else.

Shane Wanganeen, 51, was silent in the dock of the South Australian District Court on Tuesday afternoon as Judge Michael Durrant granted the prosecutor’s application for his case to be escalated to the Supreme Court.

Mr Wanganeen, of Craigmore, has been charged with manslaughter and criminal neglect after the February 2022 death of his 7-year-old son, Makai.

The court previously heard Makai had pneumonia in both lungs as well as treatment resistant sepsis when he died on February 10, 2022.

Shane Wanganeen at the gravesite of his son Makai Wanganeen. Picture: Supplied

Makai Wanganeen, 7, passed away in 2022. Picture: Supplied

It had also heard Makai was taken to a GP on February 7, 2022, and diagnosed with constipation and that prosecutors allege Mr Wanganeen was told to take Makai to hospital if his condition worsened.

The allegations against Mr Wanganeen include that he was “grossly negligent” about the health of his son in the days that followed.

Mr Wanganeen has been charged with manslaughter and criminal neglect. Picture: Matt Loxton

“It is the prosecution’s case, in a nutshell, that it was the failure to seek appropriate medical care that led to the victim’s death,” Ms Macgregor said.

“It is also alleged that the defendant prioritised a series of non-urgent tasks over taking action to prevent the death.”

She said that any trial would call upon medical experts to give evidence that if Makai had been taken for treatment, he would have survived.

Julia Davey, for Mr Wanganeen, however, argued that her client’s case wasn’t any more serious than other cases commonly heard in the District Court.

“There is no issue that this is a serious matter, but it is not a case out of the usual category dealt with in the District Court,” Ms Davey said.

Judge Durrant on Tuesday afternoon granted the application, and Mr Wanganeen will face the Supreme Court later this year to set a date for trial.