'I'm prepared to take a lie detector test': Stepfather cleared of killing toddler breaks his silence

A despised stepfather who was cleared by a jury of murdering a toddler, has made a stunning confession over his role in the death of little Nikki Coslovich.

Violent drug addict John Torney broke his silence exclusively to 7 News.

He is a man with a heavy conscience.

“For the record, I think that I am a low, inconsiderate person,” Mr Torney said.

He is one of the most despised people in Australia for his actions following the brutal death of toddler Nikki Francis Coslovich.

“No, I did not kill Nikki,” he said.

“I’m willing to take a lie detector test if anybody is willing to pay for it because I don’t have the funds.”

A Supreme Court jury found him not guilty of murder and manslaughter but the court of public opinion has not been quite so forgiving.

When Torney was asked by 7 News if he was in the house when Nikki was killed, he said he did not know.

“How can I not know? Because, um, I’m pretty sure I was in the house but I was in the kitchen,” Mr Torney said.

It is the first time the 32-year-old has spoken publicly about his role in Nikki’s death in August 2015.

The two-year-old died after suffering a crushed heart and kidneys, bleeding lungs and a split liver.

Torney admitted to hiding the toddler’s body in the roof of her home.

He said she was “definitely dead” when he did so, and alleged that at the time he was under the influence of Nikki’s mother Peta Ann Francis.

Torney said he agreed to go along with a lie that Nikki had gone missing.

“We put that story together in the room that she would call the police and state Nikki missing at 11 o’clock,” he said.

John Torney approached 7 News seeking an interview. He then asked to be paid up to $30,000.

After 7 News refused, Torney, at late notice, decided he still wanted to break his silence.

Not even during his trial was he prepared to speak about what happened to Nikki.

He refused to give evidence, but now he says he is prepared to help police in any way to bring her killer to justice.

His words have not won any favour with Nikki’s father.

“The only thing I can hope that comes out of it is if, you know, it opens something up between the two of them and they start giving more evidence,” Nick Coslovich said.

John Torney hopes that his public show of regret will allow him to move on and to find work for the first time since the trial.

But in the tragic case of Nikki Francis Coslovich the only guilt that matters must be found in a court room.