According to testimony presented in court, a child who died at the age of four after enduring “awful neglect” was badly emaciated to the point that an expert determined she had stopped growing eight months before her passing.
The killing of Willow Dunn has resulted in charges against her stepmother Shannon Leigh White, as well as her father Mark James Dunn. They have been ordered to stand trial for the crime.
However, White submitted a bail application to the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday, stating that there was insufficient evidence to charge him with reckless murder and that the trial would not take place for some time.
White, who was 45 years old at the time, was sitting in the dock wiping away tears when Justice David Boddice ruled against him and rejected his motion.
On May 25, 2018, Willow, who had Down syndrome, was discovered dead in a home in Brisbane’s Cannon Hill; however, it is thought that she died approximately two days earlier.
Paula Morreau, who represented White’s defense, acknowledged that there looked to be sufficient evidence to charge White with manslaughter.
However, in his opinion, the trial may not happen for another year due to its “significantly large case,” despite the fact that White had already served two years in jail.
Boddice expressed his disagreement with the notion that the preliminary work would take so much time.
Boddice stated that it was alleged that White, a mother of seven, committed reckless murder by denying Willow nourishment and the requirements of life for an extended period of time. As a result, Willow died substantially underweight and exhibited “obvious signs of extended neglect.”
Willow’s medical records show that she weighed much less than the bare minimum for her age, had stopped growing around eight months before her death, and was severely malnourished.
According to experts, Willow was barely half of what is required for her age, she had quit developing several months prior to her death, and anybody who saw her would have noticed how emaciated she was.
White had a good motivation to leave Queensland due to the prospect of being sentenced to life in prison if she was found guilty of murder, as well as the fact that her children live outside of the state. As a result, Boddice refused White bail.