Jed Morrison has grievous bodily harm charges dismissed after pleading not guilty in Dalby District Court

The trial of a man accused of grievous bodily harm was cut short, and the charges withdrawn, after the prosecution felt they no longer had a viable case. Here’s what happened.

Dalby Courthouse

Prosecutors have discontinued the trial against a Dalby man charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm after they felt they didn't have a strong enough case to convict.

Jed Morrison faced the Dalby District Court charged with two cases of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty.

Both charges have now been dismissed.

The prosecution alleged that on the night of November 6, 2022 in Jandowae, Mr Morrison was at the property of Robert Mcewan drinking and playing pool when Mr Mcewan went to bed.

The prosecution told the court he had gone to bed because he had work the next day.

The Crown alleged Mr Mcewan was woken by an argument between Mr Morrison and his girlfriend where Mr Mcewan walked outside and told them to “f--k off”.

The legal teams disputed over the specifics of what occurred next but both agreed a shoving match between the two men ensued. The Crown previously alleged before the charges were dismissed that Mr Morrison struck Mr Mcewan twice to the face breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

They then alleged Mr Morrison had kicked Mr Mcewan in the ribs after he had fallen and brought on Mr Morrisons stepson Mason Berry as a witness.

Meanwhile the defence offered a different series of events and suggested Mr Mcewan had to be taken to bed by two of his friends due to being too intoxicated which could have affected his memory of the following events.

Both the defence and Crown agreed that Mr Mcewan had woken to the sounds of arguing between Mr Morrison and his girlfriend however it was the defence’s case that Mr Mcewan was drunk and aggressive and had grabbed Mr Morrison's girlfriend by the shoulder when telling them to leave.

They then told the court he had shoved Mr Morrison first and was the aggressor during the incident.

During the cross examination of Mr Mcewan it was put to him that he made several contradictory statements and was unable to remember the specifics.

According to a doctor’s report Mr Mcewan suffered a medical fracture to his floating rib on the right side and during the cross examination of Mr Mcewan the defence team questioned him about his drinking habits and suggested he could’ve injured his rib prior to the night of the party while drunk.

They also probed Mr Berry asking him if he had seen the kick occur where he initially said he had seen Mr Morrison kick his stepdad to his left side before later saying he hadn't seen the kick occur.

The prosecution opted to discontinue the trial, with the charges against Mr Morrison discontinued.