Man charged with murder of motorcyclist in Maddingley appears at court

The family of a man who was killed on a motorcycle in Maddingley last week have attended court for the appearance of the man charged with his murder.

Damien Russell Janson, 31, appeared in the dock of the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Monday for a filing hearing.

The Pentland Hills man is charged with the murder of Jake Smith on May 20, 2020.

Mr Smith, 24, was riding a motorcycle in Maddingley when he was killed on Wednesday night.

It is understood Mr Smith was struck by a ute on Woolpack Road in Maddingley near Bacchus Marsh about 7.15pm on Wednesday and died at the scene.

The male driver of the ute, a 36-year-old Dandenong man, allegedly failed to stop at the scene, but stopped up the road a short time later.

He and one of his passengers, a 28-year-old Pentland Hills man, remained at the scene while Janson allegedly fled the scene on foot.

Janson presented himself to police about 3pm Friday to be interviewed by detectives.

Police believe he and Smith were known to each other.

Janson appeared in the dock on Monday wearing a black jumper and grey track pants.

He said 'love you mum, love you dad' to his parents who attended court to support him.

Janson will remain in custody and is set to reappear via video link at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court for a committal mention on October 29.

The victim's step mother cried during the filing hearing and yelled 'rat' as Janson was escorted from the dock.

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