A Northern Territory review into child protection found that domestic violence by the girl's father was the biggest risk to five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby. The Department of Children and Families recorded 14 notifications linked to family violence since 2020, five of them in the weeks before her death. The review made 45 recommendations, which the government has accepted. Sector representatives said the recommendations were similar to earlier ones. Experts warned that treating family violence as a child protection issue could lead to victims losing their children.
A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
A woman and a primary school-aged child have died outside an apartment block in Box Hill, in Melbourne's east. Police were called to Prospect Street shortly before 6.20pm on Thursday after reports that a woman was unresponsive outside an apartment complex. Officers then found a child unresponsive nearby. Both could not be revived and died at the scene. Police say they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident. The area has been cordoned off while detectives investigate. Anyone who saw the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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Northern Territory parliament passed a government motion condemning Labor MLA Chansey Paech over comments he made to the media about the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby. Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill said the comments referred to Jefferson Lewis, who has been charged with murder and has not yet entered a plea. Paech said the government had politicised the death and that he had supported the girl's family. Labor MLA Dheran Young also asked whether an investigation was underway into the leak of information to News 24 and the NT News, which Cahill did not directly address.
Detectives are investigating the deaths of a woman and a primary school-aged child in Box Hill, in Melbourne's east, on Thursday evening. Victoria Police were called to Prospect Street just before 6:20pm after a woman was found unresponsive outside an apartment block. A child was found nearby a short time later. Both could not be revived and died at the scene. Police say they are not looking for anyone else. Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
A mother will not be sent to prison for a crash that killed her six-year-old daughter, a court has heard. Zubeda Habonimana, 43, failed to give way at a Virginia intersection in Adelaide's northern suburbs in October last year. Her daughter Benita Ntihebuwayo died five days later. Victim impact statements were read in the South Australian District Court, including a plea from the girl's father that his former partner not be jailed. Habonimana pleaded guilty to causing death and three counts of causing harm by dangerous driving.
A former state police chief says care workers should have recognised the rising risk of violence facing five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby before her death. Her body was found five days after she was allegedly abducted from Alice Springs' Old Timers camp in April. Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder and is awaiting trial. An independent review led by Karen Webb and Greg Shanahan found extensive failings in the Northern Territory child protection department. The government has accepted all 45 recommendations to reset the department.
A former state police chief says care workers should have recognised the rising risk of violence facing five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby before her death. Her body was found five days after she was allegedly abducted from Alice Springs' Old Timers camp in April. Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder and is awaiting trial. An independent review led by Karen Webb and Greg Shanahan found extensive failings in the Northern Territory child protection department. The government has accepted all 45 recommendations to reset the department.
A damning independent review has found authorities missed repeated chances to protect five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby before her death. The Department of Children and Families was notified of concerns about her 14 times, including before she was born. The review, tabled in the NT parliament, calls for a system-wide reset of child protection services. Jefferson Lewis, a distant relative of the family, has been accused of her murder and will face court at a later date. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the girl's aunt, said she had been let down by the system.
An independent review has found extensive failings in the Northern Territory's child protection department following the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby. Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder and is awaiting trial. The review found officers repeatedly failed to properly assess safety threats to the girl and her family. The government has accepted all 45 recommendations, and NT Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill called the mistakes unforgivable. Indigenous advocates say poverty, housing and health issues in remote communities must also be addressed.
Police are continuing their investigation into the death of a five-year-old boy found unresponsive at a home in Grafton. Emergency services were called to the property about 6:40am on Monday, 12 October. Officers began CPR before NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived, but the boy died at the scene. Specialist forensic officers examined the crime scene, and a post-mortem examination will be carried out. The investigation is being run by Strike Force Milona, with help from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Homicide detectives are leading a major police investigation after a five-year-old boy died suddenly in Grafton, on the New South Wales north coast. Emergency services were called to a home in the town at about 6.40am on Monday after a report that a child was unresponsive. Police performed CPR until an ambulance crew took over, but the boy could not be saved. It is understood his parents are being questioned by police. A post mortem examination is due to establish the circumstances of his death. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a five-year-old boy in Grafton, New South Wales. Emergency services were called around 6.40am on Monday after the child was found unresponsive at his home. Police officers performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but attempts to revive him failed and he was declared dead. A crime scene has been established and forensically examined. The cause of death has not been revealed. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police homicide detectives are assisting Grafton officers after the death of a five-year-old boy at a home in Grafton on Monday. The boy's parents have not been arrested but are being questioned, the ABC understands, over their treatment of the child and his siblings. Police are investigating allegations that the boy and at least one other child were duct-taped into sleeping bags at night. Specialist officers forensically examined the home, and a post-mortem examination will be conducted. The Department of Communities and Justice says it is working with police, and the matter has been referred to the coroner.
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Doctors warned Queensland Child Safety that six-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs was at extremely high risk of harm from her mother, who refused to give her medication. A Brisbane inquest has heard the doctors were excluded from later safety meetings. Elizabeth died in January 2022 at her home near Toowoomba after her insulin was withheld, while her parents and church members prayed around her. Her father later agreed to stop giving her insulin. Both parents and the cult leader are now in custody. The inquest continues.
A Queensland child safety officer who returned eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs to her family has told a coroner they felt out of their depth regarding the family's extreme religious beliefs. Officers also lacked formal training and procedures for tracking cases, education department staff testified in Brisbane. Elizabeth died in January 2022 at the family home near Toowoomba after her father agreed to withhold insulin for her type-1 diabetes, in line with a church ban on modern medicine.
A coroner has begun an inquest in Brisbane into whether eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, of Toowoomba, could have been better protected by state authorities. Elizabeth died of diabetic ketoacidosis in January 2022 after her father stopped her insulin injections. Her parents, Kerrie and Jason Struhs, were convicted of manslaughter last year. The inquest will hear from 30 witnesses over two weeks, including representatives from several Queensland government departments. The first child safety witness described a 2013 report about the family, which was recorded as a Child Concern Report.
Child safety officials were warned that a diabetic girl faced an extreme risk of death if returned to her mother, a coroner has heard. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died at her family's home near Toowoomba in January 2022 after her parents stopped her insulin. Her father had stopped giving her insulin days earlier, and members of the Saints church group gathered to pray around her. A pediatrician told the inquest that Child Safety had not received an endocrinologist's report but knew its contents when returning Elizabeth home. The inquest into agency responses is due to run for two weeks.
