Father Going To Jail After Seeing What His Daughter Was Doing In Her Bedroom

A father was arrested and charged with murder after beating a man who broke into his home. 

Ben Batterham was arrested after he found 34-year-old Ricky Slater in his home following a break-in, and was charged with Slater’s murder. Batterham and another man detained Slater after he broke into the father’s home. Slater lost consciousness after authorities arrived to the scene, and was taken to a nearby hospital. He was in critical condition until doctors took him off life support. 

Batterham reportedly assaulted Slater near his daughter’s bedroom, where he was found, before moving the altercation to the street. Slater was put into a headlock during the fight.

Slater’s mother said she was heartbroken over her son’s death, particularly because his children would now have to grow up without their father.

“They’ve lost their father, their beautiful father that they haven’t seen for years because he was in jail, which has nothing to do with this case,” Beryl Dickson told ABC Newcastle outside of court. “And he got out, and back with his family, travelling between all of his family and my family. Just to think those little kids are going to grow up without a dad now.”

Dickson said she never got to say goodbye to her son before he was taken off of life support.

“Doctors took him down for a scan yesterday, found no oxygen was in his head,” she said. “They showed me photos of his head, and pronounced him dead at 11:23am. I was telling him to get up or open his eyes, and he wouldn’t; I just wanted him to open his eyes and talk to me.”

Many locals called for Batterham to be released from jail considering the circumstances that surrounded the murder.

“You can in fact use whatever force you think is necessary to save yourself,” attorney Sam Macdeone told Yahoo7 News.

Many readers applauded Batterham for taking action against Slater and protecting his daughter.

“The father did the right thing any father would have done the same thing free this guy and give him a medal for taking someone like that off the streets ask the mother why her son was in this little girls room i would have killed him myself if it was me dautghter if he needs bail put up a go fund me page and you will see how much this guy gets,” one Mad World News reader commented on the site’s Facebook page.

“FREE Batterham, he did NOT commit a crime. He protected his daughter from a criminal pedophile. In what context was the worthless pos considered a good father? Jail bird, pedophile – oh, I’m just so sure he was a shining light of pureness around his family. NOT! Bottom feeder pond scum should be dead. Batterham does not deserve to be in jail,” another added.

Sources: Yahoo7 News, ABC Newcastle, Mad World News/Facebook / Photo credit Chris Yarzab via Wikimedia Commons, Yahoo7 News