THE case against a man accused of chasing down and murdering a burglar who broke into his Hamilton home is awaiting an expert’s report into “causation”, Newcastle Local Court has heard.
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Ben Batterham, 33, who was granted bail in May on the strength of a $200,000 surety, was excused from attending court on Wednesday.
The brief of evidence in the case against Mr Batterham is awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination, toxicology reports and an expert’s report “as to the issue of causation”, the court heard.
The matter was adjourned until September 28, when Mr Batterham would be excused from attending again.
Mr Batterham was charged with murdering Ricky Slater-Dickson after Mr Slater-Dickson allegedly broke into his home on March 26.
The court previously heard Mr Batterham had chased Mr Slater-Dickson for more than 400 metres before tackling him to the ground and putting him in a "choker hold" where he punched him repeatedly every time he resisted.
