Manslaughter charge against Qld stepdad Aaron Harley James sensationally dropped
The mother of a toddler who died following a fatal fall has broken her silence after a manslaughter charge against the child’s stepfather was sensationally dropped.
The mother of a toddler who died following a fall has spoken of her disgust at the treatment of the child’s stepfather, after a manslaughter charge was sensationally dropped at court.
Aaron Harley James will walk free from court after the shocking development on the first day of his manslaughter trial at Brisbane Supreme Court.
He has spent two years in custody on remand over the death of his 16-month-old stepson, Jaylen Troy Priest, on December 30, 2021.
The planned proceedings took a sudden twist on Tuesdayafter the Crown said it was discontinuing with the charge against Mr James,resulting in a jury being discharged.
Outside court, Jaylen’s mother Savannah-Rose Wilson said she believed Mr James should seek compensation.
She confirmed she and Mr James were no longer together but she still supported him all the way.
“It’s actually disgusting, what a lot of people have done to us,” Ms Wilson told reporters outside court.
“This is my first son and I haven’t been able to grieve him properly – neither has my family, nor Aaron’s family.
“It’s ruined a lot of families.
“I think the wrong message gets put out into the world, put on social media, and people take it religiously, like the Bible, and it’s very disheartening.”
Asked if she thought Queensland Police had anything to answer to, Ms Wilson said: “Yes, absolutely.”
“I’ve told them this from day one - multiple children under the age of 10 (were) in the household at the time, she said.
“They don’t listen, they do not care.”
“I am angry at people... I lost family, I lost friends because we’ve been painted as murderers and we loved our son.”
Ms Wilson said she would remember her “beautiful” Jaylen going forward as she prepared to grieve in peace.
In his address to the jury, Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan said the events happened on a single afternoon, minutes after Mr James returned home from work.
There was no build up to the fatal injury occurring, he said.
“It was a wet day, there was water on a hard floor and Jaylen was running at speed,” Justice Callaghan told the jury.
“He slipped, he hit his head and he was found to have suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed.”
Justice Callaghan said Jaylen received prompt medical attention following the fall.
Everyone in the house was interviewed by police at length and there is no suggestion anyone was seen doing anything harmful to Jaylen, he said.
Justice Callaghan also said there was no history of violence or any mistreatment of children, including Jaylen, in the household.
He told the court Jaylen’s head injury was consistent with a “particularly-shaped table leg” in the house.
“All the evidence indicates there was a loving relationship between the defendant and Jaylen,” he said.
Judge Callaghan said there were many other questions that could be asked of the case, including “how it got to this point”.
“They’re really beyond the scope of this explanation,” he told the jury.
“I thought you were entitled to that, entitled to be satisfied the decision to discontinue these proceedings was on the basis of that summary.”
The court was told the evidence suggested Jaylen’s death was an “awful tragedy”.
“It is at least the case this tragedy will not be compounded by the conviction of an innocent man,” Justice Callaghan said.