A fruit picker facing a murder trial has had his charge dropped at the last minute after it was alleged he used a circular saw to amputate another man’s leg.
John Yalu, 29, allegedly killed Innisfail farm worker and grandfather Kalman Tal, 66, when he cut off his leg with a circular saw at 3.48am on February 19, 2022.
Yalu, originally from Vanuatu, was remanded to mental health court on Friday at the request of his lawyer Michael Rodrigues in the High Court in Cairns.
Judge James Henry had already disapproved of the length of the case when Rodrigues requested a translator and a change of court for his client.
The Queensland Mental Health Act 2016 allows criminal proceedings to be suspended for weeks if a reference is made to the Mental Health Court.
The charge against John Yalu, 29, has been stayed while the matter is heard by the Queensland Mental Health Tribunal.
Yalu, from Vanuatu, is accused of murdering 66-year-old grandfather and farmer Kalman Tal (pictured), amputating his leg with a circular saw and leaving him to bleed to death on February 19, 2022.
Any defendant suspected of suffering from a mental illness may be deemed unfit to stand trial by the chief psychiatrist before referring him or her to the Mental Health Court.
Police allege Yalu amputated Tal’s leg at the knee using a circular electric saw after the pair drove to Fitzgerald Park in the center of Innisfail, 90 kilometers south of Cairns, and sat together under a tree.
Mr Tal’s body was found by pedestrians on Fitzgerald Esplanade at 4.23am on Saturday 19 February.
Police believe Tal and Yalu put up a blue tarp before the grandfather injected himself with a sedative.
As a result of an alleged $5,000 exchange, police say Tal brought his own battery-charged table saw so Yalu could cut off his leg at the knee.
The Queensland Mental Health Act 2016 allows cases to be stayed if any reference is made to the Mental Health Tribunal, something Mr Yalu’s lawyer Michael Rodrigues had done.
Mr. Yalu then helped Mr. Tal back to his car and left shortly after; The pensioner abandoned the vehicle some time later, before he was discovered.
Paramedics were unable to revive Mr Tal, who is believed to have died of cardiac arrest due to bleeding or exsanguination.
His distraught family broke their silence to Daily Mail Australia, saying Tal was a “lovely man” but had been “sick” and “desperate” before his death.
It was later revealed that he likely suffered from a condition known as “body integrity dysphoria,” in which the sufferer feels no psychological connection to a particular body part and feels an obsessive desire to eliminate it.
Mr. Yalu is no longer here. in the custody of the correctional service and the suspension of your case may be revoked at any time prior address of the chief psychiatrist or once the Mental Health Court rules on the matter referred to.
One possibility is that Mr. Yalu’s prosecution be stayed.