An inquest heard that the father of a child who died in a hot vehicle accused child protection agencies of failing to address concerns about his daughter’s mother, who reportedly used illegal substances.
Two-year-old Darcey-Helen Conley and her 18-month-old sister Chloe-Ann died on November 23, 2019, in a car that was reportedly over 60 degrees Celsius.
Kerri-Ann Conley left her children inside the vehicle outside her home in the early hours of November 23.
She had returned from a trip to a friend’s place and used drugs. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February 2023 and was sentenced to spend nine years in jail.
An inquest was held in Brisbane on Tuesday, where Peter Jackson, the father of Darcey, said he repeatedly called the child protection agency about his concerns about the two girls.
He also said he found a large quantity of drugs, including a methamphetamine pipe, in the house.
Jackson also accused the child protection agency of failing to listen to his concerns. The inquest will look into the agency’s response before the two girls died. According to the inquest, it was notified about Darcey’s welfare after he brought her to the hospital due to his suspicions that she had been exposed to methamphetamine.
On November 3, 2019, a doctor informed the department that Darcey did not appear to be intoxicated after a general examination. The doctor also noted that Jackson had been informed that Kerri-Ann used drugs regularly. The father had reportedly seen needles and pipes in the house.
One of the first calls that Jackson made was about a message that he received from his former partner, who claimed that she accidentally left her children inside the vehicle. According to Jackson, he was surprised by the message and responded to it like any other person would.
He also said that he saw Conley attempting to remove traces of drugs from her system. She reportedly told him that she had bought synthetic Urine in order to test negative. Timothy Ryan, the barrister for the child protection agency, asked Jackson if he had been mistaken in his calls to the agency between June and November of 2019.
Ryan stated that the agency did not have records of Jackson’s calls to the child protection agency. Jackson claimed that he made the calls on his own, and he did use his mobile phone.