2LT Local News

OBERON, Central West, NSW, Australia – The Central West woman who together with her partner were sentenced last week to four decades in jail will not be eligible for parole until 2047.

The pair were convicted of torturing and killing the woman’s 3-year-old son at their home in Oberon.

The drama began on August 3 2014 when paramedics were called to a home in Oberon to treat a 3 year old boy who was in critical condition. The boy’s mother and step-father said he had been tripped up by the family’s dogs when he got tangled up in the leash of one of the dogs at a local park. Paramedics however noticed blows to the temple, scabs on his face and body, and extensive bruises, not likely to have been caused by a fall.

The boy was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where he died 3 days later.

Detectives from the Chifley Local Area Command and the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad began an investigation which led to the arrest of the parents.

WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF BOY’S INJURIES FOLLOWS

At their trial, the 3-year-old’s brother gave evidence the boy had been placed naked inside an esky filled with ice while his stepfather sat on the lid for about 5 minutes. When the esky was opened the boy was curled up inside.

He told the court his mother aggressively shook the boy so his head was “flopping back and forth.” He said his mother and her husband put duct-tape over the boy’s eyes because he was staring at them.

At other times a ball the size of a tennis ball was placed inside the toddler’s mouth. Duct tape was then placed over the boy’s mouth. His penis was flicked with a wooden spoon, and the mother admitted she stuck the boy’s head inside a wardrobe door and then slammed the door against his head. She then punched her son in the face. The court was told her actions caused catastrophic eye injuries that could have left the boy blind.

The mother told police she wanted to kill her son because she hated him – because he looked like his father who had broken off with her because of an affair with another woman. She admitted she had thought of strangling the boy and then walking to Oberon police station to hand herself in.

After being found guilty in April this year the pair were sentenced last Thursday. The woman was jailed for 44 years, with a non-parole period of 33 years. Her husband was jailed for 40 years, with a 30 years non-parole period.

Both have been in custody since their arrest a little over a month after the boy died in August 2014.

The woman who was 40 at the time of her son’s murder, will be seventy years old when she is eligible for parole in 2047.

Her husband, who was 45 at the time of his arrest, will be 72 when he becomes eligible for parole in 2044.