A mother who allowed her three-month-old daughter to starve and left the body to decompose in a cooler bag in a shed has admitted to manslaughter during her murder trial.
Tamara Louise Thompson, aged 38, was on trial for the accusation of failing to provide adequate nourishment to her baby, Destiny. The severely decomposed body of the infant was discovered in July of last year, dressed in a nappy and wrapped in a muslin cloth inside a cooler bag.
The tragic death of three-month-old Destiny was described by Supreme Court Judge Stephen Hall as “immeasurably sad.” Instead of taking responsibility and expressing remorse after the discovery of the body, Thompson consistently lied to the authorities, healthcare professionals, and acquaintances, denying her involvement in the incident, told Mail Online.
The trial came to an abrupt halt when Thompson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. She has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, with a non-parole period of eight years. Taking into account the time already served, she may be released as early as July 2023.
Justice Hall stated in court that Thompson allowed her baby to die not due to any mistake but out of antipathy towards her own child. Destiny’s decomposed body remained hidden in a cooler bag in a shed for several months. During this time, Thompson, who had five other children, fabricated stories, including telling her daughters that the baby was under the care of the Department for Child Protection while she needed rest.
The landlord of Thompson’s residence eventually alerted the Department for Child Protection, which involved the police after finding the property in a deplorable state and being unable to locate the baby. Thompson consistently refused assistance from welfare agencies and chose to use the illegal drug methylamphetamine, which had a greater impact on her ability to function than her depression, according to prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo.
Destiny was the result of a casual encounter with Thompson’s drug dealer. Barbagallo argued during a sentencing hearing that Thompson displayed a lack of genuine remorse. In a four-hour and thirteen-minute police interview, Thompson repeatedly offered evasive responses, claiming ignorance about what had happened and attempting to shift blame onto others. Barbagallo characterized these well-thought-out lies as self-preservation tactics.
Thompson finally admitted, after several hours, that the baby “might” be in the shed, where the partially mummified body was discovered. The extensive decomposition made it impossible to determine the official cause of Destiny’s death, although it was revealed during the investigation that she had a fractured rib, according to the 9 News.
Following her arrest, Thompson expressed relief at Destiny’s death, claimed ignorance about the whereabouts of the body, and showed a complete lack of concern. Notably, Thompson had previously been convicted in country Victoria in 1998 after her one-year-old son was found with a fractured arm.
Justice Hall criticized Thompson for her late guilty plea, which occurred only after her nine-year-old daughter became a witness, resulting in a lesser discount for her plea.
