NSW coroner unable to determine cause of death of baby found in freezer

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5 days ago

A coronial inquest has found there is not enough evidence to determine the cause of death of a three-month-old baby boy whose body was found in a freezer at a rural New South Wales property.
The body of the child, identified only as KP, was found wrapped in a blanket on the top shelf of a freezer at a Corowa property in 2022 after police were called to do a welfare check.
The coroner, Magistrate Kasey Pearce, identified several "missed opportunities" between the mother and support services leading up to the baby's death, but found they were unlikely to have changed the outcome.
The findings follow a three-day inquest held in Albury in December.
The inquest heard the baby's family had been advised of the hearing but were not in attendance.
No charges have been laid over the death.
The inquest heard the last evidence of KP being alive was seven days before his body was discovered and that investigators suspected he died sometime during a four-day period in 2022.
Magistrate Pearce said despite evidence from witnesses and medical experts during the inquest, it was not possible to determine the cause, manner or location of KP's death.
"Several possibilities as to the cause of KP's death were canvassed in the evidence," she said.
"The possibility of drowning, of suffocation accidental or otherwise, and the possible effects of inadequate nutrition, but ultimately the unsatisfactory state of the evidence is that none of the possibilities that were identified by the doctors rise to a level of probability."
Magistrate Pearce said at the time of his "premature death", KP seemed to be thriving.
The inquest heard during a police interview, the mother said she had left KP with a man who she referred to as "Only" in the days before the baby was found dead.
Magistrate Pearce said she found the account given by KP's mother "inherently implausible".
The coroner said there were inconsistencies in the way the mother had described the events to the police.
"I am unable to accept that the events described by the mother occurred.
"Unfortunately, the result is that there is simply no evidence to what occurred in the days leading up to KP's death."
The inquest was told the mother had been referred to the NSW-run Safe Start program for families at risk of adverse outcomes in the perinatal period.
The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) was also involved with the mother and baby after cannabis was detected in the baby's urine.
Magistrate Pearce said the failure by DCJ to conduct a risk assessment of the case may have been a missed opportunity, but not one that was likely to have changed the outcome.
She said in her opinion there were shortcomings in the DCJ practitioners' compliance with various policies and procedures, which in some respects could have been done better.
But Magistrate Pearce noted her comments came with the benefit of hindsight.
"I was impressed with the care and professionalism of all who dealt with KP and his family."
The coroner recommended that Albury Wodonga Health and Murrumbidgee Local Health District work together to formalise the administration and governance of the Safe Start program for the catchment area.