A woman close to a Queensland mother who died in a highway collision alongside her four children has told an inquest she "wouldn't have imagined" the woman intentionally crashed, an inquest has heard.
Charmaine Harris McLeod, her two daughters, Aaleyn, 6, and Matilda, 5, and her two sons Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2, died after their car collided with a truck near Kingaroy in May, 2019.
Their deaths are the subject of a coronial inquiry which is examining several issues, including the cause of the crash, the handling of allegations made by Ms McLeod to police and her mental health treatment.
The inquest has already heard Ms McLeod, 35, suffered long-standing severe mental health issues including experiencing hallucinations and had previously attempted self-harm.
It also heard after the crash a note was found which claimed Ms McLeod was "unable to cope" and detailed accusations of sexual offending against her and her children allegedly at the hands of her ex-husband James McLeod.
On Thursday Mr McLeod's lawyer told the court her client has never been charged with any sexual offences against children or adults.
Several people close to Ms McLeod, whose identities have been suppressed, gave evidence about her mental health struggles and allegations Mr McLeod had committed sexual offences.
'Frustrated' about court action
One witness told the court she was aware Ms McLeod heard voices, but because she was familiar with people who had schizophrenia, there was "nothing that really raised a red flag".
"She was pretty open about it," she said.
This same woman saw Ms McLeod one week before she died and said she seemed "pretty frustrated" and upset about pending court action with Mr McLeod.
She told the court Ms McLeod "felt like no one was really helping her".
"She was scared that James was going to get full custody," she said.
The woman told the court Ms McLeod had considered "just leaving" with the children, but the pair still made future plans to see each other.
When asked about allegations of sexual assault, the woman told the court she was aware some of the claims had been reported to police and the department of child safety.
"[One child] had told Charmaine James was touching her inappropriately and I think the same with [another child] as well," she said.
Under cross examination the woman admitted she had previously told police Ms McLeod was "known to lie".
'Very surprised if she had done this on purpose'
The second witness to give evidence began her testimony by expressing she "wouldn't have imagined [Ms McLeod] harming her kids".
She said she took this view because Ms McLeod had previously confided in her that she had specific fears of dying in a car crash.
"I would be very surprised if she had done this on purpose," she said.
The woman told the court she was aware Ms McLeod specifically heard voices telling her "if she didn't kill herself, [the voices] would kill somebody that she loved".
She also recalled an instance where Ms McLeod told her she once believed she saw a giraffe on the front of her car while she was driving.
Testifying about the allegations of sexual offences, the woman said Ms McLeod confided in her about a number of occasions in her life where she said she had been raped, including by Mr McLeod.
She said Ms McLeod told her "that's how Matilda had been conceived".
The woman also said Ms McLeod had reported an instance of an alleged sexual assault by Mr McLeod against one of her children to the police.
"[Ms McLeod] said she was upset they didn't believe her and didn't know what to do," she said.
A third woman told the court she was also aware Ms McLeod "was worried she was going to lose custody of the kids" shortly before she died.
"I said the best thing to do is 50/50 and she didn't want that," she said.
'Someone coached' this child
This woman was also asked about the allegation of sexual offending against one of Ms McLeod's children specifically involving an "orange pencil".
She told the court she witnessed a police officer say "someone coached" the child.
"Something along the lines [of] they don't believe there was a case there and it seemed like [the child] was told to say that," she said.
Under cross examination the woman told the court "I can't take Charmaine at face value" because she would "tell stories".
"She would tell one person one version of events, and someone else would get another," she said.
A man testified that Ms McLeod told him she had been raped by Mr McLeod and other men when she was younger.
"She also said that Zaidok was the result of rape," he said.
The man also spoke of an occasion where one of Mr McLeod's children disclosed to him that Mr McLeod had touched their genitals.
"For a little [child] to come and tell me that, there's absolutely something wrong," he said.
He told the court another child had also become distraught when they saw an orange pencil.
"[The child] just screamed one night when we were colouring in," he said.
However he told the court he believed Ms McLeod would "just make stuff up" and over time her "stories become more spectacular".
"The fibs got so bad … I just couldn't believe her anymore," he said.
The inquest continues.
