How Could You? Hall of Shame-Australia-NSW Foster Mother-Child Death
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From New South Wales, Australia, “a NSW foster mother accused of murdering a toddler told police the boy struck his head in the bath while “crocodile rolling”, a court has been told.
The 41-year-old, who lived with her partner and two teenagers, was arrested in January and charged with murdering the 20-month-old boy near Dubbo, in northwest NSW, in March 2015.
In refusing her bail in the Supreme Court, Justice David Davies noted reports by medical experts said the child’s injuries were inconsistent with being caused accidentally.
“The child had blunt force injuries to the head and the abdomen and the anus area and suffered a broken femur,” he said on Tuesday.
The toddler would have been in extreme pain and would not have been able to walk after sustaining the broken thighbone, according to the experts.
The boy had been placed in the care of the woman and her partner, who had been at some friends’ place watching a football game on the afternoon before the death.
She told police she bathed the child and put him to bed, the judge said.
“The child apparently doesn’t like being bathed and engaged in a ‘crocodile roll’ and in the course of so doing was said to have struck his head in the bath,” he said.
A triple-zero call was made at 5.17am, when the boy was found to have vomited and was not breathing very well or not at all.
Justice Davies said no real explanation had been given for the three-year delay in charging the woman.
In arguing for bail, her lawyer said she had no prior convictions and the crown case for a charge of murder was not strong.
The lawyer referred to the unreliability of the witnesses at the afternoon function who said the child did not appear to have any injuries when he was taken home.
He also referred to the evidence of the family witnesses who said the bathing and putting to bed of the child were mainly done by the woman and they were not able to throw any light on what happened.
The partner did agree the child didn’t like being bathed and engaged in “crocodile rolling”.
“It is not immediately apparent why these witnesses should be referred to as unreliable,” the judge said.
In refusing bail, the judge said he considered the crown circumstantial case to be a strong one for murder.
The matter will be mentioned in Dubbo Local Court on April 26.”
Bail denied for foster mum charged with toddler’s murder
[Sydney Morning Herald 4/3/18 by AAP]
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