Murderer Michael O'Connell still 'blaming others' for the death of Danielle Jordan

A convicted murderer has been accused of still blaming his former partner Danielle Jordan for her death.

Michael O’Connell appeared expressionless as the ACT Supreme Court heard how the murder had left Danielle’s family broken.

“My emotions: frustrated, mad, lonely, sad,” Ms Jordan’s nine-year-old daughter’s victim impact statement read.

Danielle’s mother wrote of having to look after her grieving granddaughter, taking her to “give Mummy a cuddle” at her headstone, finding the brightest star each night to say goodnight, and how the little girl now believed butterflies were her mother “checking in on her”.

“[Looking after my granddaughter] was never supposed to be forever,” her victim impact statement told the court.

“The only break I get is when I lie down [each night] … there are plenty of nights where I couldn’t care less if I didn’t wake up the next day.

“Every morning, I wake up and my daughter is dead.”

O’Connell had been on bail for family violence charges when he visited Ms Jordan’s house in Melba in the early hours of Good Friday, 15 April 2022.

One condition of that bail was that he didn’t make contact with his partner.

An argument ensued, which resulted in O’Connell trying to drive away with Ms Jordan sitting cross-legged on the front of his vehicle.

After Ms Jordan fell onto the road, O’Connell claimed to hospital staff and her family that her injuries were from falling down the stairs.

He denied killing Ms Jordan, but a jury found him guilty of murder in June.

O’Connell gave the court a letter during his sentencing hearing, which prosecutor Mike Smith said “still described what occurred as an accident” and he was “still victim blaming”.

“He is still blaming others for his actions,” he said.

“[O’Connell still] blames her, in part, for what happened.”

Defence barrister Jon White SC submitted a “more nuanced approach” was called for when considering remorse in this situation.

Mr White argued his client did “everything he could” to ensure Ms Jordan would survive her injuries and that his “grave anguish and pain and love” following her death showed remorse in a non-legal sense.

“It’s quite clear, albeit [while he] shouldn’t have been there … she physically tried to prevent him from leaving,” he said.

“One cannot be diverted from the role Ms Jordan herself played in this incident.

“None of that is victim-blaming … it shows the factual background [of what happened].”

Mr White went on to state his client had shown “considerable patience” during the fight and had been trying to get away and that O’Connell was able to be remorseful of the role his actions played in Ms Jordan’s death without accepting criminal responsibility.

Justice Belinda Baker took issue with this, stating that when a judge took remorse into account during sentencing, the convicted had to show an acceptance of wrongdoing.

“There doesn’t seem to be any acceptance, even at a low level, that his conduct had any role to play in this offending,” she said.

Justice Baker reserved her sentence until next year.