The only DNA found on the handle of a freezer inside which a dead three-month-old baby was discovered belonged to the infant’s mother, a New South Wales inquest has heard.
Almost three years after the infant’s body was discovered by police in a home in Corowa, on the NSW-Victoria border, a coronial inquiry on Monday morning in Albury began looking into the circumstances around the 2022 death.
Jake Harris, the counsel assisting the coroner, told the inquest that despite an extensive police investigation into death of the baby, who is being referred to as “KP”, the circumstances remain unknown.
Harris told the court it was unclear when KP had died, but said there was no evidence the child was alive after 12 January 2022.
KP’s mother had told police that the baby had been with an acquaintance prior to the discovery of the body and that she did not know how the child ended up in the freezer, the inquest heard.
She has not been charged or accused of being involved in the death.
Harris, who said there was no reason to refer anyone involved in the inquest to prosecutors, told the NSW coroner’s court that while the mother had provided information about KP, there was “reason to doubt the reliability of her account”.
Harris said only the mother’s DNA was found on the handle of the freezer, where police made the gruesome discovery. Her DNA was also found on a blanket that the infant was wrapped in, the court was told.
The inquest heard KP’s grandfather phoned triple zero on 19 January 2022, after becoming concerned that he had not seen the baby for several days.
That night, police went to the granny flat at the back of a Corowa property, which the infant and KP’s mother shared with her parents. The mother initially told police she had given KP to a friend in Albury, but did not provide further details, the inquest heard.
Harris told the inquest police then kicked the door in and discovered the mother alone in the granny flat with the TV on.
“The room was quite cluttered and dark,” Harris said.
An empty pram was in front of the fridge, the inquest was told.
The court heard that a police officer screamed in shock when he realised KP was wrapped inside the freezer, before telling his colleague to arrest the mother.
Harris told the inquest that the mother appeared unemotional during the discovery of the child and her subsequent arrest. She asked the police officers, “what am I under arrest for?” and “what’s in the freezer?”.
The mother was released from custody without charge the following day, the court heard.
During a police interview on 23 January 2022, she said a man she referred to by the name “Only” had picked up her and KP in Corowa, and said he would look after the baby and return the child, the inquest heard.
The inquest also heard that after KP’s birth on 18 October 2021, the child’s mother had received home visits from nurses and case workers from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. A visit from a nurse on 4 January 2022 was the last time KP was seen alive.
Harris told the court the nurse noted KP was “vigorous and alert”, and the mother said she did not need a visit the following week as everything was “going so well”.
Bernice Nardino, the child and family health nurse, told the inquest that during multiple home visits to see the mother and KP she did not have concerns about the baby’s care. Nardino said that when the mother missed appointments, she was satisfied with the reasons given.
The inquest also heard that the mother’s mental health had deteriorated from 2017, after two of her children from a previous relationship moved to live with their father, the court heard. The mother has not revealed the identity of KP’s father.
Dr Bernard I’Ons, who conducted KP’s autopsy, concluded the reason of death could not be ascertained, the court heard.
He told the inquest it was impossible to determine whether KP was alive when the child was placed in the freezer and no injuries were discovered on the infant’s body.
I’Ons said the possibility of drowning or suffocation could not be ruled in or out based on the autopsy.
Over the course of the three-day inquest, the deputy state coroner Kasey Pearce will consider whether the Department of Communities and Justice conducted an adequate safety assessment, why a risk assessment was not performed and how information about risks were shared between stakeholders.
The inquest continues.
