An inquest was held in Australia on Tuesday to discuss the deaths of a nine-month-old baby and her father, who were both killed after a court granted him access to their daughter.
The father, who was 38 years old at that time, was a violent and manipulative individual.
Martin Kirby, counsel assisting, said that the incident was a murder-suicide that shocked South Australians.
He noted that the inquest would not be able to identify the exact system or procedure that led to the deaths of Kobi and Shepherdson.
Although the various factors that contributed to the tragic outcome were not the sole factors that caused it, the multiple shortcomings in Mr. Shepherdson’s life, including his history of mental health issues and domestic violence, all lined up in catastrophic ways.
According to Kirby, Shepherdson met Jenna Hutchins, a member of the Defence Force, through an online dating app in late 2019. Hutchins then became pregnant a month later.
After they moved in together, he started verbally abusing her. In December 2020, he was arrested after he was accused of threatening to kill her.
An intervention order was then issued against Shepherdson, prohibiting him from contacting his daughter and Hutchins. In January 2021, he started calling his former partner.
Kirby noted that Shepherdson called her over 150 times.
Hutchins was given directions by Shepherdson on how to drop the charges. According to Kirby, after hearing the calls, the court would determine that they were manipulative.
He said that Shepherdson was able to convince Hutchins to do what he wanted by illegally contacting her.
None of the calls were made to the police or the courts. In February 2021, Hutchins signed a form to have charges withdrawn.
In March, after being released from prison, Shepherdson was found hiding in her bathroom.
A week later, he was arrested and charged with violating the intervention order. He was sent to prison for six days.
After telling the police that she wanted the order to remain in place, Hutchins later changed the conditions of the intervention to allow contact.
Shepherdson appeared in court on April 21 to ask for a modification of the intervention order. Through his lawyer, the court agreed to have the non-contact conditions lifted.
On the same day, he planned to spend time with Kobi.
On the afternoon of April 21, he visited the 34m-high Whispering Wall and climbed over the railing. Kobi was strapped to him in a child carrier.