Chinchilla man found not guilty of grievous bodily harm after four day trial

Torres Billow Aniba found not guilty of grievous bodily harm after defence question reliability of witnesses and raise defence of accident. Find out more.

After a four day trial in the Dalby Magistrates Court Torres Billow Aniba has been found not guilty of grievous bodily harm over an incident in which a man was allegedly hit during a drunken night out in Chinchilla.

Mr Aniba pleaded not guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm following the incident on June 26, 2021, where police alleged he struck Frank Roma outside the Club Hotel, causing him to fall, fracturing and dislocating his ankle and tearing ligaments.

During the opening day of the trial the jury heard Mr Roma was at the pub drinking with some friends when he allegedly got into a heated argument with Chris Thompson, a man described by Mr Roma as “huge and twice his size” and the brother-in-law of Mr Aniba.

Mr Roma said although his memory was foggy he believed the argument had something to do with Mr Aniba and Mr Thompson’s partner.

The court heard Mr Thompson struck Mr Roma to the face multiple times causing him to back-pedal and climb over the hotel’s veranda to leave the scene.

After leaving the scene it was alleged Mr Aniba struck Mr Roma causing him to fall and sustain injuries.

Over the four day trial the jury heard testimony from a number of witnesses including the alleged victim Frank Roma, Club Hotel security guard Aaron Beck, a witness Matthew Edwards, Nurse Francis Cox and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Brant Monaghan.

In her final address Crown Prosecutor Monique Bros-Wilshire urged the jury to believe the testimony of Mr Beck who had been working as a security guard on the night of the incident referring to him as an “honest and reliable witness”.

She also drew attention to Mr Edward’s testimony who was sitting across the street at the time of the incident.

Mr Edwards said he had seen Mr Aniba on the street at the same time Mr Roma was struck and saw Mr Roma stumble into the gutter, however he said he didn't see what caused him to fall due to large crowds.

Ms Bros-Wilshire also mentioned the CCTV footage which captured the initial brawl between Mr Roma and Mr Thompson and despite not showing Mr Aniba strike Mr Roma it did place him on the street around the time of the attack.

In the footage Mr Beck can be seen sprinting in the direction of the bottle shop and Ms Bros-Wilshire said something had made him run which she alleged was seeing Mr Aniba strike Mr Roma.

In the closing of her address Ms Bros-Wilshire asked the jury to consider the definition of grievous bodily harm which required the perpetrator to intend the consequences of their actions and said striking an intoxicated man while he was standing on the gutter had foreseeable negative consequences.

Defence lawyer Frank Martin then made his address.

Mr Martin called into question the reliability of Mr Beck as a witness telling the jury that a witness can be “honest but not reliable” referencing Mr Beck’s comments “I could be mistaken”, “I’ve convinced myself I saw Mr Aniba strike him” and “it was three years ago” as evidence of his unreliability.

He also called into question Mr Beck's view of the incident with poor lighting, large crowds and his heightened sense of adrenaline as well as Mr Edward’s comments about not seeing the strike.

Mr Martin then raised the defence of accident suggesting that the intoxicated Mr Roma could have stepped off the gutter and injured his ankle referencing Dr Monaghan’s statement that the injury could be sustained in any number of ways including walking or slipping on wet grass.

Mr Martin then told the jury that if Mr Aniba had struck him they needed to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt the injury was foreseeable.

Following the addresses the jury deliberated for several hours asking for confirmation on the definition of grievous bodily harm which was defined as “an injury if left untreated is likely to cause permanent injury.”

They also asked questions related to intent and the foreseeable consequences of an action.

At the closing of the trial Mr Aniba was found not guilty.

Originally published as Chinchilla man found not guilty of grievous bodily harm after four day trial