Townsville man Aaron Hill will face a Supreme Court jury charged with the manslaughter of a three-year-old girl who allegedly died of heat stroke after being left in a hot car.
Prosecutors told the court Rylee Rose Black died of heat stroke after she was left inside a four-wheel drive for more than four hours in Townsville in late November 2020.
Prosecutors said she had been buckled into a booster seat in the back row of the seven-seat vehicle from 10:00am to about 2:30pm.
Her mother, Laura Black, and Ms Black's then-boyfriend Aaron Hill have both been charged with manslaughter.
Mr Hill was the driver of the vehicle and Ms Black had been a front-seat passenger.
At a hearing in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Thursday, Mr Hill was committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court in Townsville before a jury.
During the committal hearing, Magistrate Kenneth Taylor outlined the case presented by prosecutors.
"The defendant and the co-accused, Ms Black, were in a relationship and both had children from previous relationships," he said.
"Ms Black entered the car with her children including the child.
"After a school drop-off Mr Hill, Ms Black, and the child were the remaining occupants.
"They returned home via a stop at Woolworths where Mr Hill purchased groceries while Ms Black and the child remained in the car.
"They then returned home with Hill exiting the car with the groceries together with Ms Black, Rylee being left in the car."
The court heard Rylee had been in the vehicle for more than four hours.
"This remained the situation until later that day about 2:30pm," Magistrate Taylor said.
"It is claimed both Hill and Ms Black entered the car and were driving for a short period of time and noticed Rylee slumped in the back seat."
The toddler was declared deceased by staff at the Townsville University Hospital.
Lawyers representing Mr Hill failed to have the charge against him dismissed.
Defence barrister Claire Grant said the prosecution had not established a prima facie case with enough evidence to go to trial.
She said the prosecution had not proven there was a statutory obligation on Mr Hill at the time Rylee died and "that the person who had the duty of care to the child was Ms Black and her alone".
"The two families had very recently merged," Ms Grant said.
Magistrate Taylor said there was "some evidence" of the defendant caring for the daughters of Ms Black.
"There is evidence that the parties all lived together, Hill contributed to buying groceries for the whole family," he said.
"Hill was the driver at the relevant times, Hill and Black exited the vehicle at about the same time and both remained at the house until they re-entered the vehicle in the afternoon."
Magistrate Taylor also referenced that Mr Hill allegedly told police it was "both, more so Laura's" responsibility to remove Rylee from the car.
"It should not be constructed as an acceptance he had a legal responsibility over Rylee," Magistrate Taylor said.
"But taken together it is my assessment that it constitutes sufficient evidence upon which a properly instructed jury could lawfully convict."
Magistrate Taylor also said that it was open to a jury to decide whether Hill had breached his duty while in charge of the vehicle.
A court will set a date for the trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland with a jury in Townsville.
Mr Hill remains on bail.
