the death of Mason Lee<\/a> and it felt like there was this intense scrutiny on everything we did. And then nothing happened. I still don\u2019t understand why there was never an inquest.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened \u2026 I don\u2019t understand how child deaths just disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soon after Justin was born, police were called to a disturbance at the family\u2019s house. Photograph: Dave Hunt\/AAP<\/p>\n
The child safety department said it was not legally able to comment on individual cases but that \u201cthe safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said the department had \u201crobust reporting and accountability oversight bodies\u201d.<\/p>\n
Criminal history<\/p>\n
Records seen by Guardian Australia indicate Justin\u2019s father had an extensive criminal history including convictions for drug offences, fraud and breaking and entering. He was jailed for repeatedly breaching domestic violence protection orders against a former partner, including a threat to kill the woman. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer although no conviction was recorded.<\/p>\n
Child safety had previously removed children from his care, including after one case that involved allegations he had locked a child in her bedroom and assaulted her. When asked about the man by child safety officials, the girl soiled herself, the records state.<\/p>\n
Child safety documents indicate that Justin\u2019s mother presented to hospital for an abortion with Justin\u2019s father when she was 15 and he was 23. She identified the man accompanying her as her \u201ccousin\u201d but her social media posts from the same time refer to him as her \u201cboyfriend\u201d.<\/p>\n
The family was understood to be transient while the mother was pregnant with Justin, including living at caravan parks.<\/p>\n
In October 2016, soon after Justin was born, police were called to a disturbance at the Yeppoon house. A witness later told police that they had seen the boy\u2019s father hit the mother across the back of the head with a baseball bat.<\/p>\n
The same witness said Justin was rarely seen outside the house.<\/p>\n
After the anonymous child safety notification on 10 January 2017, the department spoke to staff at a childcare centre that Justin attended twice a week.<\/p>\n
They said they had queried bruises and other apparent injuries but the mother had said they were caused by older children being rough with him.<\/p>\n
\u2018Not good with follow up\u2019<\/p>\n
Because the notification from January 2017 included allegations the boy had been physically harmed, the child safety department also notified police. A detective from the child protection investigation unit was sent to the house to conduct a check on 11 January.<\/p>\n
After Justin died, police could find no formal notes or records about the visit.<\/p>\n
A child safety officer emailed police on 6 March \u2013 the day Justin died \u2013 trying to find out more details about the potentially critical interaction, which was the only time any public official had seen the boy before his death.<\/p>\n
Did the detective record anything about letting child safety know the outcome of his visit?<\/p>\n
\u201cI serious[ly] doubt it, [he] was not good with follow up,\u201d a police officer replied via email.<\/p>\n
double quotation markIt would have required severe force to fracture a femurPathologist in autopsy report<\/p>\n
The child safety officer asked politely again. Her manager wanted to know: was there any way of checking?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo there isn\u2019t. Let them know that I believe we did not advise you [at the time] of the outcome of that inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless someone called to ask [him], but I can\u2019t see him following through with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer in question had resigned from the Queensland police service only days beforehand.<\/p>\n
Police later told child safety they had obtained more information \u2013 that the officer who attended had no concerns; that the child was asleep and that the officer had decided not to wake him to conduct a more thorough check.<\/p>\n
Police records show officers attended a domestic violence call to the family home two days later, where they found Justin\u2019s mother covered in blood after breaking a locked window to access her car keys. She was labelled the \u201crespondent\u201d \u2013 or primary perpetrator of violence \u2013 by police.<\/p>\n
It is unclear whether those officers accessed records that would have detailed the father\u2019s history of violence.<\/p>\n
\u2018I get angry really quick and over nothing\u2019<\/p>\n
In late February, Justin\u2019s father phoned a public mental health service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chemistry is messed up in my head \u2026 paranoia is fucking sky high right now,\u201d he told the counsellor. \u201cI get angry really quick and over nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He denied thoughts of harming himself or others but said he kept weapons in his house for protection.<\/p>\n
The man had previously been diagnosed with an antisocial misconduct disorder, trigger schizophrenia and a \u201ccluster B\u201d personality disorder.<\/p>\n
Former police sergeant Kate Pausina. Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Kate Pausina, a former detective with expertise in reviewing domestic violence-linked deaths, said the case appeared to be an example of \u201ca perfect storm\u201d of failures and multiple missed opportunities to intervene.<\/p>\n
She said three departments \u2013 child safety, police and the health department \u2013 each held information that could have prompted urgent action to protect Justin.<\/p>\n
But there were missed triggers \u2013 including child safety\u2019s failure to begin an investigation, and police failures to record details \u2013 that might have prompted the case to be looked at by a \u201csuspected child abuse and neglect\u201d team that enables information-sharing between agencies.<\/p>\n
double quotation markWe will also unlikely know who had access to [Justin] during his 5 months of being aliveDetective in email about investigation<\/p>\n
\u201cThe QPS and other agencies have, again, been conveniently relieved of scrutiny over their failures in protecting the safety of our most vulnerable members of society,\u201d Pausina said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe have again not been investigated, scrutinised or held accountable in providing a transparent account of their failures \u2013 failures in adequate investigation of child harm [and] record keeping \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment departments responsible for ensuring the safety of children and women breathe a collective sigh of relief that the media have not pursued the case, or that families do not have the support or resources to raise further questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Highly suspicious for non-accidental injury\u2019<\/p>\n
Justin\u2019s father told police he had been carrying the boy on the evening of 5 March 2017 when he slipped on an unknown item. He told police he had fallen down an internal step and that the infant was between him and the floor as he landed.<\/p>\n
Justin had consumed half a bottle of milk and then fallen asleep, he said. He had called an ambulance about four hours later when the boy awoke and appeared to be struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n
Justin died in hospital from what the pathologist described as \u201ccatastrophic head injuries\u201d.<\/p>\n
His autopsy also found significant other injuries \u2013 which did not cause his death \u2013 but which the pathologist said were \u201chighly suspicious for non-accidental injury\u201d.<\/p>\n
These included a broken left femur \u2013 at the top of the leg \u2013 that would have been at least a few weeks old.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have required severe force to fracture a femur,\u201d the pathologist said.<\/p>\n
Justin also had fractures to 17 of his ribs \u2013 which would have been more than a week old \u2013 of the sort typically caused by a \u201ccompressing or squeezing type force\u201d. These could not be accounted for by the fall described by his father.<\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s weight \u2013 in the bottom 3% of children his age \u2013 was labelled \u201csuspicious for neglect\u201d.<\/p>\n
The pathologist said the autopsy could \u201cneither confirm nor exclude\u201d that the head injuries that caused Justin\u2019s death were caused by the fall described by his father: \u201cIt is possible that the above-described incident could have caused these injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
No charges have been laid \u2013 either for the death of Justin or in relation to suspicions he was subject to abuse or neglect. Police would not respond to questions about how their investigation was finalised and the child safety documents seen by Guardian Australia do not refer to the latter stages of the police investigation.<\/p>\n
But in an earlier email a detective outlined the nature of the investigation. He said medical and forensic evidence had raised \u201cconsiderable doubt\u201d about the father\u2019s version but could not rule out a fall. More evidence would be needed \u201cto charge anyone with homicide\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gathering evidence about Justin\u2019s pre-death injuries would be a lengthy process. In both cases, police would need not just to show Justin was harmed but to identify who had harmed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can be near impossible as we are unsure how many incidents there are,\u201d the detective said. \u201cWe will also unlikely know who had access to [Justin] during his 5 months of being alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said police would also investigate the parents\u2019 responsibility to provide medical attention.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Queensland police service said detectives had conducted \u201ca full and thorough investigation\u201d into the death of a five-month-old boy at Yeppoon on 6 March 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the conclusion of the police investigations, the matter was referred to the coroner,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould members of the public have any further information in relation to this matter they are urged to contact police.\u201d<\/p>\n
No response from coroner<\/p>\n
Guardian Australia does not suggest Justin\u2019s parents should have been criminally charged over his injuries or on the basis of neglect or in connection with his death.<\/p>\n
Pausina reviewed the information Guardian Australia was able to obtain and \u2013 while noting she did not have access to the records that document police decision-making about whether to lay charges \u2013 agreed that the investigation would have required additional or new evidence to justify a homicide charge.<\/p>\n
But she and child safety workers with knowledge of the case say they have concerns that the coroner with carriage of the case did not hold an inquest.<\/p>\n
Guardian Australia requested a copy of the coroner\u2019s finding four months ago. The coroner with carriage of the case, David O\u2019Connell, had not responded to that request at the time of publication.<\/p>\n
The QPS said it had referred the matter to the coroner and that the finding had noted \u201cthat if further persuasive information is made available then the coronial investigation can be reopened\u201d.<\/p>\n
A police spokesperson said a referral to the QPS ethical standards command was triggered \u201cif a coroner determines that further QPS reviews are required\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese systems and processes are critical in ensuring that when tragedies occur, the QPS can learn from them, and make changes to better serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the coroner\u2019s court said coroners did not comment on cases and \u201cspeak through their findings and rulings\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is inappropriate for coroners to add to or detract from what they have said other than as part of their findings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pausina said the lack of an inquest to establish how a five-month-old baby sustained previous fractures and subsequent fatal injuries \u201creinforces the victim\u2019s lack of importance in our society\u201d.<\/p>\n
* Name has been changed<\/p>\n
In Australia, domestic and family violence counselling is available from Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In March 2017, the death of a baby boy \u201cknown to child safety\u201d sets in motion a frantic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-738741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}