Man Acquitted of Murdering Mildura Toddler Nikki Francis Coslovich

The man who was accused of murdering Mildura toddler, Nikki Francis Coslovich, has been found not guilty.

John Torney, 32, has been acquitted after the court found him not guilty of murdering his partner’s daughter, two-year-old, Nikki Francis Coslovich, in their Mildura home in Victoria’s north-west.

Nikki’s body was found in the roof cavity of the family’s home hours after she was reported missing to police in August last year.

Mr Torney was charged with Nikki’s murder but he insisted that it was the girl’s mother and his partner, Peta Ann Francis, who killed her, yet he admitted to the Supreme Court he had hidden the child’s body in the roof.

After three days of deliberation, Mr Torney was cleared of all charges and he looked relieved, while the girl’s mother sat motionless as the verdict was delivered.

The defence had told the court that Mr Torney only disposed of the body and denied the claims of the prosecution that he killed the girl while Ms Francis was out running errands.

Mr Torney told the court that on the night of Nikki’s death, Ms Francis had said to him she had enough of the girl and had to get rid of her. He said he then went into the girl’s room and saw her lying unresponsive on the bed with her eyes open then he said he cuddled the girl and cried before putting her body in the roof.

The jury heard that the toddler was bashed to death but her injuries were consistent with a car crash or from falling from a great height.

During the trial, it was revealed that Ms Francis had been the subject of an undercover police operation during the investigation into Nikki’s death. She repeatedly denied she had any involvement in her daughter’s death.

Source: Abc.net.au