December 5th 2024.
A former contestant from the popular singing competition show X Factor Australia, Mitchell David Callaway, has been cleared of a murder charge against him. The charge stemmed from the tragic death of a nine-month-old baby girl in 2018. Callaway, who is now 39 years old, was arrested last year in Bowraville, New South Wales after an investigation was launched into the baby's death in the state's Central West.
The heartbreaking incident took place six years ago when emergency services were called to the home and found the baby unresponsive. Despite being rushed to the hospital, the baby unfortunately passed away soon after. A coronial inquest, which took place between December 2022 and April 2023, revealed evidence linking Callaway to the baby's death.
According to the post-mortem report, the baby girl had suffered 13 injuries to her head, including an 8cm fracture above the ear, bruises on the back of her head, and a significant injury inside her upper lip. The police had alleged that Callaway had fatally assaulted the baby while he was babysitting her in July 2018, and the injuries ultimately led to her suffering cardiac arrest.
To investigate the death further, the police had set up a task force called Strike Force King. After gathering enough evidence, they charged Callaway with murder. He was in custody for six months before being granted bail by the NSW Supreme Court in December 2023. Callaway's lawyer, Bill Dickens, had argued that there was no concrete evidence linking the injuries to the cardiac arrest. He also suggested that the baby's skull could have been fractured up to a week before her death.
During Callaway's bail application, Justice Stephen Campbell acknowledged that the case was a distressing one, but the evidence against Callaway was purely circumstantial. He also stated that while Callaway was a natural suspect for the police, there was significant dispute regarding the medical evidence, as reported by the ABC. The judge also took note of Callaway's issues with aggression and anger management, particularly when under the influence of alcohol. As a condition of his bail, Callaway was ordered to abstain from drinking and stay away from any licensed premises. He was also required to stay at his parents' house, report to the police daily, adhere to a curfew, and have no contact with the prosecution witnesses, including the baby's mother. According to reports, Callaway had fist-pumped the air in relief when he was granted bail.
Recently, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution dropped the single charge against Callaway, and he did not appear before Dubbo Local Court on Thursday. The exact cause of the baby's death and how she sustained her injuries is still unknown. Earlier this year, the court was informed that Callaway had been diagnosed with stage-three cancer in 2018, but he has since gone into remission.
Callaway first gained fame when he competed on the Australian reality show X Factor in 2011, where he placed seventh. He impressed the judges with his audition performance of Keith Urban's song "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and was mentored by singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte. However, he was eliminated in a showdown with the late Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo.
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