Simon Middleton’s alleged murderer pleads for bail because his children were left without parents after arrest
A man accused of murdering his tenant pleaded in court to be released from jail because of a ‘risk to his kids’ welfare’ now both parents are behind bars.
An Adelaide man accused of murdering his tenant has asked in court to be released from custody because his children have a “risk to their welfare” having lived without both their parents for the past six months.
Matthew Charles Draganoff, 44, was charged with the murder of his tenant Simon Middleton, 49, who was shot dead out the front of a Brady St property in Virginia on March 8 this year.
His wife Amanda Jane Draganoff was charged with aid and abet murder and Matthew Istvan Harmati was charged with murder over the death.
Mr Draganoff appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he applied for bail for a second time because his personal circumstances had “changed dramatically” since his first application.
The court heard three of his daughters, aged between 8 and 21 years, were living at their family home in Virginia and had been without their parents for about six months because both their mother and father were held in custody in relation to the murder.
Jasmine Daniel, for the defence, said there was “a risk to their welfare” because of the young age of his daughters.
“It’s quite a severe, unusual circumstance to suddenly be without parents for such a long period of time,” she said.
The court heard Mr Draganoff has two other sons — who suffer from autism and ADHD — and their mother had relapsed into anorexia.
“She is working part time and … is the only one available to assist his daughters financially. There is a lot of pressure on her,” Ms Daniel said.
“She has been unable to seek care and medical assistance because she is spread so thin to all of these responsibilities.”
The lawyer also argued that Mr Draganoff’s firefighting training business had been unable to complete contracts since his arrest and faced permanent closure.
However, police prosecutor Kevin Dollard said any form of bail was opposed because of the seriousness of the alleged offence, the need to protect witnesses and the likelihood the accused would interfere with ongoing investigations.
Magistrate Brett Dixon ruled no special circumstances existed and denied bail because of the seriousness of the allegations.
As part of the investigation, eight premises were searched and seven vehicles were seized as well as a large amount of CCTV from around the scene.
Major Crime Detective Inspector Brett Featherby said the footage showed a 1998 Nissan Patrol dropped off a man that walked through a church towards nearby Leach St before the footage captured the shooting and two men running from the scene.
The defendant is due to reappear in December.
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