A man accused of abducting and causing grievous bodily harm to his own father that allegedly caused his death 11 months later has been ordered to stand trial for manslaughter.

Joshua Irving Samual Williams faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday for a committal hearing on one count of the manslaughter of his father, Neville Clive Donaldson.

Mr Donaldson, 69, died of a heart attack on April 12, 2022 at a hospital in Redcliffe, northeast of Brisbane, after spending almost 11 months in care for a traumatic brain injury allegedly caused by falling from a vehicle driven by Williams.

Williams is accused of abducting Mr Donaldson on May 16, 2021 from Banyo in Brisbane’s north in an attempt to gain money from him.

Mr Donaldson was allegedly pushed head-first into the passenger’s seat of a car and later exited the vehicle in unknown circumstances while it was travelling between 40 and 60km/h.

Williams’s barrister Jessica Horne previously told the court there was sufficient evidence for her client to stand trial for grievous bodily harm instead of manslaughter.

“The medical evidence does not exclude a hypothesis consistent with innocence, which is that Mr Donaldson would have died from the heart attack regardless of the traumatic brain injury,” Ms Horne said.

The court in October heard from two witnesses including a forensic pathologist and physician with expertise in caring for elderly people.

Both experts testified that Mr Donaldson’s traumatic brain injury, allegedly suffered during the abduction, had contributed to his death.

Williams has not entered a plea and will face trial in Brisbane’s District Court at a date to be fixed.

By Rex Martinich in Brisbane

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