Investigation begins into ‘suspicious’ death of 14-month-old boy in Wagga Wagga

An inquest into the death of a 14-month-old boy in southern NSW has heard he suffered a long list of injuries including blunt force trauma, broken ribs and lighter burns.

The boy, known by his pseudonym KBS for legal reasons, was rushed to hospital on the morning of January 13, 2019, where he was later pronounced dead.

New South Wales Police launched a homicide investigation into his death in May that year, but no one was ever charged.

At a three-day inquest at Wagga Wagga Courthouse, Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes is seeking to determine how the toddler died and whether “the significant risk of death to KBS was adequately addressed” by the child protection service that dealt with the family.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Rob Ranken, told the court that KBS’s death was “unnatural” and occurred in “suspicious circumstances”.

He also said there was a “high probability” that KBS died by homicide.

In his opening statement, Ranken detailed the list of injuries found during an autopsy, including blunt abdominal trauma, fractured ribs and limbs, fresh blood in his diaper, lacerations to his spleen, bruises, scratches, and a lighter burn and blisters on his feet.

He said that at one point in the homicide investigation, “it was anticipated that a known person might be charged in connection with the death,” which is partly why the investigation was conducted so many years later.

Conflicting accounts

The court heard that KBS lived with his mother and sister in a Wagga Wagga neighbourhood where other members of his family also lived.

On one occasion the siblings stayed with relatives while their mother was in Wollongong and their father was in prison.

The court heard that KBS had been treated by several doctors before his death, including for a spider bite, but none found any cause for concern.

An ambulance was called to the home at around 10.40am on January 13 when the boy was found lifeless and “blue” in his cot.

“The witnesses present at that time gave versions that are neither reconcilable nor consistent,” Ranken said.

Mr Ranken said KBS’s mother gave several different versions of events regarding who lived in the house and how often she checked on her son at night.

Other family members also provided statements, including accounts they said could explain some of KBS’s injuries, such as a fall down stairs in the days before his death.

Mr Ranken said that in a formal statement to police some years later, KBS’s mother admitted that her intimate partner was living with her at the time, but that she had withheld this information because he was on the run from police for unrelated reasons.

Mr Ranken said the official statement stressed that his partner was “jealous” of KBS and described a new version of the night’s events, including hearing a knock coming from a room where his partner and KBS were alone.

“She heard a thud and (her partner) said, ‘It’s nothing, he’s just pretending,'” Ranken said.

The court heard the children were then put to bed while the couple smoked cannabis, before the mother went to bed at around 6am, leaving her partner smoking ice in the living room.

The court heard she told police that when she woke up the door to the children’s bedroom was closed, which was unusual, and that her partner had entered the room first to check on his brother, who was crying.

The court also heard that the partner was interviewed by police in prison and initially said he was asleep, but later said it was he who discovered KBS was not breathing and alerted his mother.

History of domestic violence

Mr Ranken told the court that KBS’s parents were living together at the time of his birth.

“The relationship between them was characterized by domestic violence,” he said.

“He was charged with offences against (the mother) and was taken into custody.”

In her official statement to police, the mother said that her subsequent relationship with the man who was living with her at the time of KBS’s death had been marred by violence.

The court heard that the partner was found dead in a prison cell in 2022.

The investigation is expected to continue until Wednesday.