A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard.
The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations.
A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Sunshine Coast woman — who cannot be named for legal reasons — appeared before the court yesterday morning after she was arrested and charged with a string of offenses earlier this month, including: five counts of administering poison with intent to harm, three counts of preparation to commit crimes with dangerous things, and one count each of torture, making child exploitation material and fraud.
Crown prosecutor Jack Scott outlined the evidence against the woman who he alleged had admitted to her then partner to administering medication not prescribed for the toddler.
He also alleged that hospital CCTV footage would show her with a syringe and “fiddling” with the infant’s nasogastric tube while the little girl was hidden under a blanket.
He alleged that the toddler was “rendered totally unconscious” shortly after in a way that could not be explained by “any known condition” she was suffering from.
Scott opposed bail and told magistrate Stephen Courtney that the woman had moved a video camera that was monitoring the toddler during a brain activity test “to avoid detection.”
He also alleged that the woman told police a “bald-faced lie” that she did not knowingly fill out scripts for medication that the child had been advised against taking.
Police allege the poisoning occurred between Aug. 6 and Oct. 15 last year, when the woman is accused of administering several unauthorized prescription and pharmacy medicines to the one-year-old girl. They allege the woman posted videos of the child in “immense distress and pain,” and used the online content to “entice monetary donations and online followers.”
Scott said the child exploitation material charge was related to videos allegedly found on the woman’s phone and she had caused life-threatening complications.
Scott opposed the bail application, based largely on the alleged risk of the woman reoffending against the child.
Defense lawyer Mathew Cuskelly sought bail on a number of “strict conditions” that he said would ameliorate any risk to the child, including residency and reporting conditions, that her contact with the child be limited to supervised, audio visual contact, and that she not contact any relatives who may be witnesses.
Cuskelly said the case against his client was largely circumstantial and that the complexity of the case meant his client might not face trial for a considerable amount of time, with the magistrate agreeing it was “not inconceivable” that that might not occur for “two or three years.”
Courtney said that it was his tentative view that the prosecution’s case against the woman appeared very strong, but that he needed time to absorb it and that the level of offense in and of itself was not a factor when considering bail.
“Ordinarily, bail applications are fairly straightforward matters,” he said. “This isn’t.”
The accused is to appear by video link this morning to hear the magistrate’s decision.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also