Darwin dad who allegedly caused crash that killed his young son to run ‘automatism’ defence at trial

LAWYERS for a Darwin dad accused of causing a crash that killed his five-year-old son will run a defence of ‘automatism due to a medically diagnosed illness’ at his trial, a court has heard.

Jye Mulhall was allegedly driving a 4WD when it crashed in Stapleton in August 2019, killing his 5-year-old son Dmitri Charles Mulhall. Picture: Facebook

LAWYERS for a Darwin dad accused of causing a crash that killed his five-year-old son will run a defence of “automatism due to a medically diagnosed illness” at his trial, a court has heard.

Jye Mulhall, 28, has been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court charged with drink and drug-driving, driving with an unrestrained child in the car and driving causing the death of Dmitri Charles Mulhall over the fatal rollover outside Adelaide River last year.

During a pre-trial hearing today, his lawyer Thelma Gray told the court the defence would be calling an expert witness in regard to “automatism”.

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Under the NT Criminal Code, a person’s conduct is considered involuntary if it is not “a product of the will of the person whose conduct it is”.

Examples given under the code include “a spasm, convulsion or other unwilled bodily movement”, “an act performed during sleep or unconsciousness” and “an act performed during impaired consciousness depriving the person of the will to act”.

Crown Prosecutor Matt Nathan SC said the prosecution case was “a very simple one” based on Mulhall’s alleged level of intoxication and that Dmitri was allegedly unrestrained in the car.

“The Crown will be calling expert evidence in relation to the blood-alcohol concentration of the accused — with a countback the range has been placed at 0.153 to 0.281 per cent,” he said.

“Over 0.15 there’s quite a considerable evidentiary basis to suggest that you’re not in control of the vehicle.”

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Mulhall is due to stand trial either later this year or early next year.