Home Defender Ben Batterham Wins Secret Payout After Decade-Long Legal Ordeal
The final chapter in a harrowing ten-year legal saga has concluded with a confidential damages payout for Ben Batterham, the Newcastle chef who was wrongfully prosecuted after defending his home from a violent intruder. The case, which ignited fierce public debate about a person's right to defend their family and property, reached its quiet resolution this week, bringing closure to a traumatic ordeal that began on an Easter Saturday in 2016.
A Night of Terror and Tragedy
In the early hours of March 26, 2016, Ben Batterham was celebrating his birthday at his Hamilton home with a friend. His fiancée, Monique Cameron, and their seven-month-old daughter were sleeping next door at his parents' house. At approximately 3:20 AM, Ricky Slater, a 37-year-old, 120kg convicted rapist and methamphetamine addict, broke into the Cleary Street property. Slater, who had been released from prison just three months prior, was carrying three knives, cannabis, meth, and cash in a bumbag.
Batterham and his friend, Paul O'Keefe, were in the lounge when they heard noises. Investigating, Batterham discovered Slater lurking in his infant daughter's bedroom, where the intruder had stolen the child's headband and Cameron's handbag. A confrontation ensued, prompting Slater to flee out a side door. Batterham gave chase through several streets, despite falling and gashing his head.
With the assistance of neighbours returning from a party, who allowed him to call Triple Zero, Batterham eventually tackled Slater to the ground on a driveway. A struggle erupted in the gutter, witnessed by off-duty Detective Inspector Peter Mahon and other residents. During the altercation, Slater bit Batterham, who responded by placing the intruder in a chokehold to restrain him.
Legal Nightmare and Public Outcry
Police arrived and handcuffed Slater, who was motionless and apparently unconscious. He was transported to John Hunter Hospital, where he suffered three heart attacks. His life support was switched off the following day. Batterham, meanwhile, was arrested for assault at the scene, with his charge upgraded to murder after Slater's death.
The chef spent six weeks in jail before being granted bail, which included a $200,000 surety on his parents' home. The case provoked widespread public outrage, with many championing Batterham's right to defend his home and family. Online sentiment swung heavily in his favour, framing the prosecution as an attack on fundamental self-defence rights.
At his 2019 trial in the NSW Supreme Court, Batterham's legal team, led by barrister Winston Terracini SC, successfully argued that he had lawfully executed a citizen's arrest. The jury accepted that Batterham never intended to kill Slater, but merely sought to detain him until police arrived. He was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.
Justice Desmond Fagan later ruled that Batterham should be paid costs, stating the charges should have been withdrawn based on medical evidence alone. The court heard that Slater had a lethal level of methamphetamine in his system, pre-existing heart scarring from drug use, liver disease, and obesity, which were the true causes of his death.
A Decade of Trauma and Final Resolution
For Batterham, the acquittal did not end the suffering. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he filed a civil claim against the State of NSW for wrongful prosecution. On February 5, the matter was resolved with a confidential damages settlement, bringing the nearly decade-long legal battle to a close.
His solicitor, Peter O'Brien, told the ABC that the agreement ends a "long and torturous process" for his client. "It's a very good example of why prosecution authorities need to exercise the discretion to not proceed and to not bring proceedings that are inevitably doomed, as this one was," O'Brien stated.
In a 2020 interview with 60 Minutes, Batterham reflected on the night that irrevocably changed his life. "This could happen to anyone," he said. "It could happen to you, it could happen to me. I did what any father would have done. It's my castle, people should always defend their homes."
The case leaves a complex legacy, balancing the grief of Slater's family, who maintained their son was wronged, against the principle of self-defence. For Ben Batterham, however, the secret payout marks a hard-won victory and a chance to finally move forward after a decade defined by one fateful night.
