Father of toddler who died in boiling car shares heart-wrenching message after terrible incident
Warning: This article contains descriptions of child abuse and neglect that some readers may find upsetting.
On November 23, 2019, Darcey-Helen Conley, aged two-and-a-half, and Chloe-Ann Conley, 18 months, died after being left alone in a hot car by their mother in Waterford West, south of Brisbane, Australia.
The car is reported to have reached a sweltering 61.5C, 7News reports.
Kerri-Ann Conley left the two youngsters in the vehicle after returning home from her friend’s house and taking methamphetamine.
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Following her arrest, she pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, and last year, Conley was sentenced to nine years in prison for her crimes.
She will be eligible for parole in November 2024.
And now, the father of Darcey-Helen said that 'nobody seemed to be listening' to his warnings, according to an inquest held on Tuesday (30 April) in Brisbane.
Peter Jackson claimed that he'd called the Queensland Department of Child Safety four to six times in the fortnight before the young girls died, the inquest said.
Jackson is suing the government in Queensland for personal damages he claimed to have suffered as a result of the girl's deaths.
"My concern [was] about the drug use around Darcey and Chloe," he said. "I also informed them of the [meth pipe and small clip seal bags] I found just walking through the house, the utter pigsty the house was in... to no avail. "Nobody seemed to be listening."
The current inquest will examine the adequacy of the response by the Department of Child Safety to concerns surrounding the girls' welfare leading up to their deaths.
Jackson recalled one of the first calls he'd allegedly made to Child Safety in late October 2019 following a text he'd received from Conley.
"I got Chloe in the car. Woke up at 2am. Left Chloe in the car. Oops," the message read.
"I responded to the effect of 'what the f***,'" he said "I was a little taken aback."
However, the department’s barrister, Timothy Ryan, questioned Jackson and asked if he was mistaken about making the alleged phone calls as Ryan said that the department didn't have any records of him making those calls.
Jackson claimed he'd made the call anonymously, but that he did use his own phone.
The inquest also heard how the children's grandmother, Deanne Power, had contacted Child Protective Services (CPS) a year before the incident that killed them.
"I said that [Darcey] was in danger living with her mother," she told the inquest. "I said Peter had a phone call from the daycare lady saying Darcey had no lunch."
She also claimed that before the children passed away, child safety workers were 'played a phone message in which Kerri-Ann admitted falling asleep on the couch and leaving Chloe-Ann in the car all night.'
Bec Oakes