Bail for Dale Hamilton charged with murder of Jonathan Martin at Miles

A young Qld man who police allege killed a 44-year-old during a brawl over dogs and a damaged car in a small country town is back on the streets but not without these conditions.

Murder charge: Dale Joram Edward Hamilton, accused of stabbing Miles man Jonathan Martin at a Western Downs residence on March 21, 2023.

A Miles man charged with murder has been released on bail on the condition he does not return to his hometown and wears an ankle monitor.

Dale Joram Edward Hamilton made the bail application in Toowoomba Supreme Court on Friday November 29.

Police allege the then 26-year-old murdered 44-year-old Jonathan Martin on March 21, 2023.

Mr Hamilton’s barrister David Jones KC, instructed by Legal Aid Queensland, said his client told him Mr Martin went to Mr Hamilton’s home armed with a tomahawk in search of the man he believed had been taunting his dogs and damaging property.

“Mr Martin and (his associate) visited him in the dark of the night,” Mr Jones said.

“They went there seeking out (another man) because they believed (he) would be able to tell them where the person was that they suspected was the person tormenting Mr Martin’s dogs and also responsible for the wilful damage of his car.

“There was then a confrontation, the confrontation was brought by these two men to Mr Hamilton’s doorstep.”

Mr Jones told the court it was unclear what exactly happened next but, according to an eyewitness, Mr Martin and his accomplice allegedly taunted Mr Hamilton who then attempted to leave with his dog.

Jonathan Martin died at a Western Downs residence on March 21, 2023.

“There was then a confrontation in the dark, there was a concern expressed by Mr Hamilton about his dog, he then ran away with his dog and Mr Martin was left there fatally wounded and died shortly after,” Mr Jones said.

The court heard that in covert police recording, Mr Hamilton claimed there was a knife but could not recall its origins.

“He didn’t know where the knife was produced from; he raised self-defence and the concern he had for his own life and perhaps a wrestle for the knife,” Mr Jones said.

“But he was largely unaware how it was the deceased suffered the fatal injury.”

He said while the crown case was not “weak”, it was “far from strong”, claiming several defences were open to Mr Hamilton.

Mr Jones said a statewide delay in DNA testing could see Mr Hamilton’s case pushed to the latter half of next year and argued strict bail conditions would mitigate any risks of release.

Crown Prosecutor Emily Coley claimed, if released, Mr Hamilton posed a significant flight risk as someone with a history of evading police.

“While I accept that there are a number of defences and there are some difficulties that will face the Crown at trial, it is far from a weak case and that needs to be balanced with the risk factors,” she said.

“There is an incredible incentive with charges of this nature for a person to flee.

“The risk here is far greater because of the previous examples and more recent examples of Mr Hamilton being willing to fail to stop for police, flee police, for far lesser or minor events in the grand scheme.”

Justice Thomas Bradley KC ultimately ruled bail could be granted under the condition Mr Hamilton does not travel further west than Dalby, essentially banning him from returning to his hometown of Miles.

Mr Hamilton was further ordered to report to Toowoomba police three days a week and to wear an electronic monitoring device.