Leonie Astra HUTCHINSON

 

Date of Birth  - 1999

Last seen - Scone, NSW Hunter Valley in December 2001, aged 18 months

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Police fear for the safety of little Leonie Hutchinson, who appears to have "dropped off the face of the earth". Despite questioning the child's mother Kate Hutchinson on a number of occasions, police say she's unable or unwilling to discuss her daughter's whereabouts. They're now appealing for your help in finding Leonie, who would now be six...

The last-known sighting of baby Leonie was in the NSW Hunter Valley town of Scone in December 2001, when she was 18 months old.

Detective Inspector Tim Seymour, who's in charge of Strike Force Kanuna which is looking into the youngster's disappearance, says, "The worst-case scenario is that Leonie is deceased and the best case is that she's living happily with a loving family." Det Seymour says despite 10 months of "extensive inquiries" around the Hunter Valley and along the NSW Central and North coasts, her whereabouts remain a mystery.

The five-year-old's mum has four other children, three of whom now live with their grandmother Helen Hutchinson. The youngest, a one-year-old girl, lives with her mother. Helen says she only learnt of Leonie's existence in January 2001, by which time Leonie was 18 months old.

"I've had custody of my daughter's three sons (aged 15, 13 and 11) for the past eight years, but no contact with my daughter," she explains. "This is a very concerning situation."

Police discovered Leonie was missing in January this year while investigating an unrelated matter. "We've spoken to the family and friends of Kate Hutchinson as well as following up any leads, but we've hit a dead end so far," Detective Seymour explains.

Police have also spoken to Leonie's biological father, who's separated from her mother, but he was unaware his daughter was missing and was stunned when told the news.

Det Seymour says that from his inquiries he knows Leonie was a happy little girl "who loved fairies and teddy bears".

The last confirmed sighting was when Kate brought Leonie to the Scone Medical Centre in October 2001 to be immunised, but locals say they saw Leonie and her mother in Scone several times in December of that year.

"Our only concern is for her safety. If anyone has her or knows where she is, they shouldn't fear our investigation," say the police.

If you know where Leonie is, call Hunter Valley police on (02) 6542 1399 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 - with thanks to WOMAN'S DAY magazine


Police continue search for missing Scone girl
Bronwyn Farr
Thursday, 25 August 2005


POLICE are determined to establish whether missing Scone child Leonie Hutchinson is still alive, with Detective Inspector Tim Seymour appealing to Upper Hunter people for information regarding her disappearance.
Leonie Astra Hutchinson was last seen with her mother Kate Hutchinson at Scone Medical Centre in late 2001 when she was 18 months old.

She would have turned six last Wednesday.

Police scoured a property near Scone last week but Det Insp Seymour, who is heading the investigation, would not elaborate on the search that involved 50 police and SES personnel and mounted police.

"I've said all along our best case scenario is that she is alive and well and our worst case scenario is that she is deceased," Det Insp Seymour said.

"I am reasonably confident we will resolve it one way or another. Somebody, somewhere, must know what has happened to this child.

"All we are concerned with is the welfare of the child, if she is alive and well that be the end of our investigation," he added.

"Any member of the community who has information to assist us in our inquiries should contact Muswellbrook Police or any of the police stations, and all information will be treated in confidence," Det Insp Seymour said.

"The welfare of this child is paramount and that is all we are concerned about. We just want to establish whether this child is alive and if that is the case, then nobody has anything to fear," he said.

Her mother Kate - also known as Rainbow - had spent time in Broken Hill, and on the central and north coasts, including in Byron Bay and Gorokan, but currently lives in the Upper Hunter district.

She has been quoted as saying that Leonie is with a wealthy family who will take care of her.

But there is no record of Leonie's existence since the last confirmed sighting of her in October 2001.

Det Insp Seymour said an illness precluded Leonie's mother from assisting police with their inquiries.

If you can help police with their inquries, phone:

- Hunter Valley Police 02 6542 1399

- Scone Police 02 6544 0199

- Murrurundi Police 02 6546 6144

- Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.


 

 Police in the Hunter Valley have begun a statewide search for a four-year-old girl who went missing from Scone more than two years ago.

Police only became aware of her disappearance six weeks ago.

Leonie Astra Hutchinson was 18 months old when last seen, Detective Inspector Tim Seymour of Muswellbrook police said.

He said her disappearance was discovered when police were investigating an unrelated matter.

Leonie had last been seen in Scone in December 2001. Her mother Kate, 31, had spent time in Broken Hill, and on the central and north coasts, including in Byron Bay and Gorokan.

"Her mother is ill and it is possible the little girl is in the care of another couple and we would like that couple or anyone who knows the whereabouts of the child to contact police," Detective Inspector Seymour said.

Missing woman, unborn child safe

A HEAVILY pregnant woman whose child went missing in 2001 and has never been found, was picked up in Byron Bay last night after a massive police search.

Kate Elizabeth Hutchinson, 36, who is mentally ill, went missing from the Richmond Clinic at Lismore on Tuesday morning.

Ms Hutchinson is due to give birth tomorrow and police, holding grave concerns for the welfare of the woman and her unborn child, on Tuesday appealed to the Northern Rivers community for help in finding her.

Ms Hutchinson used her ATM card in Byron Bay yesterday morning and police there joined the Richmond Local Area Command search.

The Northern Star understands Ms Hutchinson has given birth to a number of children, but they have been removed from her custody by the Department of Community Services (DoCS).

One of her children, Leonie Astra Hutchinson, was last seen in 2001 in Scone, NSW, when she was 18 months old.

According to media reports since her disappearance, the toddler has not been sighted since she was taken by her mother to a Scone medical centre for an immunisation shot.

Police reportedly did not learn of her disappearance until early in 2004 when they were investigating another matter.

They have been hunting for evidence of what may have happened to her ever since, and Ms Hutchinson was reportedly unable to assist them.

Leonie, who would now be nine, remains on the NSW Police Missing Persons Register.

Police last night thanked the public for their help in finding Ms Hutchinson.

“The missing person was located in the Byron Bay area by Byron Bay police at 5pm this afternoon,” Richmond LAC Inspector Greg Moore said in a statement.

“There is no further action required regarding this matter.

“Richmond LAC police wish to thank all involved in the search for Ms Hutchinson.”

Insp Moore said Ms Hutchinson and her unborn child were believed to be well when she was found.

Fears for second missing child

THE mother of mentally-ill Lismore woman Kate Elizabeth Hutchinson has revealed a second child born to her daughter may also be missing, feared dead.

Helen Hutchinson, 65, told a Sydney newspaper her daughter disappeared in 2006 when she was heavily pregnant, but Mrs Hutchinson did not know what happened to the child.

Police are investigating the whereabouts of another child born to Ms Hutchinson.

The girl, Leonie, was reported missing after police realised the girl was not living with her grandmother.

Mrs Hutchinson is reported to have asked authorities to ensure her daughter does not fall pregnant again.

The 36-year-old gave birth to her latest child at Richmond Clinic psychiatric ward in Lismore less than two weeks ago.

The boy has since been removed from her care.

Mrs Hutchinson has looked after her daughter's children since the first was born some 20 years ago.

“Somebody has to do something to stop her from having any more babies,” she said.

“It's as much for her sake as it is for the children's.

I love my daughter very much, but she is a dangerous person.”

Kate Hutchinson was found in Byron Bay after going missing in August, weeks before she was due to give birth.

 

Mum of missing girl had 'satanic poster'

A CASE worker for a NSW toddler who disappeared says she was not concerned about the mother's interest in witchcraft or her "satanic poster".

Community services made three visits to the girl's home in the months before she was last seen, an inquest into the disappearance of Leonie Hutchinson was told today.

Leonie has not been seen since December 2001, but police did not realise she was missing until nearly three years later.

The NSW Department of Community and Family Services was alerted in July 2001 by a report that Leonie, who lived with her mother Kate in Scone, in the Hunter Valley, and was nearing her second birthday, could be at risk of harm.

They were satisfied by what they found on their visits and closed the case at the end of that year.

It was only when community services staff were called to Ms Hutchinson's home on another matter in 2004 that they realised Leonie was no longer there.

Michelle Hanlon, a friend of Ms Hutchinson, said in her statement to the coroner that she had "a bad feeling" about what had happened to Leonie, the hearing at Parramatta Local Court was told on Monday.

Case worker Christine Anderson visited Ms Hutchinson's home on August 1, 2001, shortly after a risk of harm report was made.

Asked by Warwick Hunt, counsel assisting the inquiry, if she had been concerned by Ms Hutchinson's interests in witchcraft and the fact she had a "satanic poster", Ms Anderson said she had not.

"From what I observed of Kate's interaction with Leonie, and my observation of Leonie, Leonie's needs were being met," she said.

Ms Anderson returned eight days later with mental health workers who interviewed Ms Hutchinson and went back again with her supervisor for a second opinion on August 15.

The case was closed as they did not believe Leonie was at risk.

Wendy Wilson, who was Ms Anderson's line manager, said when asked if it would have been "prudent" to arrange further home visits: "With hindsight, we could have kept it open for another two years."

Ms Wilson became aware in October 2003 that Ms Hutchinson was being evasive about Leonie's whereabouts. It was not until the following January when she visited the Scone home that the department realised Leonie was not there.

When asked about Leonie, her mother became "erratic and irrational", said Ms Wilson.

Ms Hutchinson would only say, "Leonie's safe," she told the inquest.

She has subsequently refused to reveal where her daughter is or who she is with.

The inquest will resume tomorrow.

Mum of missing tot said aliens were coming

 
THE mother of missing girl Leonie Hutchinson told a friend the world was ending and aliens were going to take her and her daughter away, an inquest has heard.

Kate Hutchinson had previously spoken of a "wolfman" who appeared to her and was going to lead her to aliens, according to friend Jessie Ryan.

Leonie has not been seen since December 2001, when she would have been two years-old, but authorities did not realise she was missing from her NSW Hunter Valley home until January 2004.

Her mother has since refused to say what happened to her daughter.

Ms Ryan, who lived with Ms Hutchinson in 1998, said on Tuesday that her friend - who used cannabis at the time - would visit what she described as a "special place" at Gorokan.

"She told me the wolfman used to come to her from the sky, out to her on the rock where she was at Gorokan," Ms Ryan told an inquest at Parramatta Coroners Court.

"She also said the wolfman would one day come and take her to the aliens."

When Ms Hutchinson told her she was pregnant with Leonie, she also told her she had "stage four cervical cancer" and she wanted her child to be adopted, possibly by Ms Ryan's mother, if she did not get better.

Ms Ryan went to Scone after Leonie's birth and Ms Hutchinson told her "the world was going to end in the year 2000 and aliens were going to come and take her and Leonie away".

Adoption was not discussed, but on the topic of cancer Ms Hutchinson said she was "in the clear".

When Ms Ryan went back to Scone the next year, she was told by people who answered the door at Ms Hutchinson's unit that she had moved a few doors away and given up her daughter for adoption.

At the new address she found blankets draped over the windows and no one answered the door.

When Ms Ryan was alerted by police about Leonie's disappearance, she found they were using a photograph of the wrong girl in seeking information from the public.

Instead of Leonie, they were using a photograph of one of Ms Ryan's daughters. Ms Ryan said she may have given the picture to Ms Hutchinson at some point.

Another friend who used to live with Ms Hutchinson, Tammy Bourke, told the coroner Leonie's mother would talk of "aliens and lights" and became increasingly paranoid after smoking cannabis.

She believed neighbours were listening to the pair speak and changed the lyrics of an Aerosmith song to sing "Katie's got a gun", saying she was going to shoot the neighbours.

Ms Bourke told the inquest: "Half the time Kate spoke, she didn't make sense anyway."

The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday.

 

Inquest into disappearence of Leonie Hutchinson told her mother Kate said a "chosen" child would be sacrificed

THE mother of a missing girl had told a friend she would bear a "chosen'' child who would be sacrificed, an inquest has heard.

Leonie Hutchinson has not been seen since December 2001, when she would have been two years-old, but authorities did not realise she was missing from her NSW Hunter Valley home until January 2004.

Her mother Kate Hutchinson has since refused to say what happened to her daughter.

Michelle Hanlon, who was a friend of Ms Hutchinson, was asked in Parramatta Coroners Court today about a conversation she had with Ms Hutchinson 13 years ago.

Ms Hanlon had told the court about a three-day LSD trip, after which Ms Hutchinson spoke of seeing a "wolfman''.

Ragni Mathur, representing Ms Hutchinson, questioned Ms Hanlon's evidence that Ms Hutchison had mentioned "a chosen child, and that child be sacrificed''.

"Yes, there was,'' Ms Hanlon told the court.

"That conversation never has left my head.

"This wasn't something (that) I ... might forget something like that.''

Ms Hanlon, who told the inquest she was involved in witchcraft and tarot readings, was also questioned why she never made mention in her statement that Miss Hutchinson told her of a premonition she had of "a child's throat being slit''.

Ms Hanlon said she was confident it was something "in my head''.

"Well, I'm sorry, you weren't there when it happened, and ... you're standing there making me feel this small,'' she said.

"Just because of my religion it doesn't make me an idiot.''

The court also heard that Ms Hutchison had told Ms Hanlon that "seven years later, there would be a black man who would (give) her a child''.

"Well, that's who she ended up with,'' Ms Hanlon told the court.

"Yes, and she had a black girl.''

Ms Hanlon was also asked about a time when she saw a "pyramid'' structure in Ms Hutchinson's house with diadems representing earth, fire, water and air, wrapped in a mosquito net.

Ms Hanlon told the court she believed Ms Hutchinson had been using it as a "power source''.

Magistrate Hugh Dillon adjourned the matter for a callover to be next heard on February 15.

13 years on, the hunt for missing Leonie Hutchinson goes on

Detectives investigating the disappearance of a Hunter Valley baby 13 years ago have renewed their appeal for your help.

Leonie Hutchinson was one year old when she was last seen since in late 2000 at her mother’s home in Scone.

Despite her disappearance being the subject of two coronial inquests, her whereabouts remains unknown. A third coronial inquest into Leonie’s disappearance begins Monday, December 9, 2013.

Police from the Hunter Valley Local Area Command are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Leonie’s disappearance and are calling on members of the public to help. 

Hunter Valley Local Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Trent King, said police were hopeful of finding Leonie.

“Leonie has been missing for nearly 13 years and while we have some strong leads, and have spoken to people throughout NSW, Victoria and Queensland, we still don’t know exactly what happened to her or where she is,” Det Insp King said. “We are confident that there are a number of people in the community who have information about Leonie’s disappearance but have not yet spoken to us.

“Now is the time for these people to come forward. Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could provide the breakthrough we need.”

Police were not informed of Leonie’s disappearance until 2004. Upon being advised that the child was missing, detectives from the Hunter Valley Local Area Command formed Strike Force Kanuna to investigate the disappearance.

All evidence gathered by police will be presented to the coronial inquest.

Kate Hutchinson confessed to killing baby Leonie, inquest hears

Date

The mother of missing NSW toddler Leonie Hutchinson confessed to friends she killed her daughter, and the girl's body may be secreted in a well, an inquest has heard.

The coronial inquest into the disappearance of Leonie, last seen in the Scone area in NSW's Hunter region 13 years ago, has resumed at the Coroner's Court in Glebe on Monday.

It is the third time the inquest into the toddler has sat and, on Monday, it was told the focus had shifted from investigating claims her mother, Kate Hutchinson, had given her daughter away, to a "more concerning picture".

Police only became aware Leonie, aged 18 months, was missing four years after she disappeared, while they were investigating an unrelated matter.

They have narrowed down the last time the baby was seen to August 2000 after conducting fresh interviews with people, including shopkeepers and residents in Scone, who knew Leonie and her mother.

Both were living in the upper Hunter town at the time and were well known in the small community.

Ms Hutchinson was allegedly involved in witchcraft at the time Leonie disappeared, the inquest has been told.

Detective Inspector Elizabeth Simos told the inquest police had spoken to an associate of Ms Hutchinson. He said Ms Hutchinson had told him she had killed her daughter.

Another associate told police he saw "Rainbow", as Ms Hutchinson was also known, punching her stomach during pregnancy.

Detective Inspector Simos said the Scone property where Ms Hutchinson was living at the time of the disappearance had a 3.5-metre deep well on its grounds.

She said she "believed" that is where the toddler could have been "secreted" if she was dead but said police did not have the resources to dig it up.

Counsel assisting the inquiry, Warwick Hunt said the police investigation had recently been assisted by a "new attitude of co-operation" in the Scone and Musswellbrook area about the case.

 

Missing toddler Leonie Hutchinson's mum Kate may have dabbled in satanic rituals, inquest hears

AN inquest into the disappearance of an 18-month-old girl has heard her mother may have dabbled in satanic rituals.

The coronial inquest heard this morning that toddler Leonie Hutchinson was last seen in mid-August 2001 with her mother, Kate, in the Hunter Valley.

Ms Hutchinson later offered various accounts to friends, family and authorities of what had happened to her daughter and where she was.

Counsel assisting the coroner Warwick Hunt said all inquiries following up Ms Hutchinson's claims had led to successive dead-ends.

"The reality is, in a factual sense, all that information leads to a big cul de sac," he said.

Mr Hunt described Ms Hutchinson as a recluse who had schizophrenia and other mental health issues.

He said she was known to have been involved in "satanic and ritual matters".

Coroner Hugh Dillon said that while the aim of the inquest was to determine whether Leonie was dead and if so how she died, he was not confident of making a finding based on current evidence.

The inquest continues.

A dark hint that Leonie Hutchinson is dead

A HANDWRITTEN note found in 2004 by police investigating the disappearance of Leonie Hutchinson gave police a grave clue about the child's possible whereabouts.

Officers searched the Hunter Valley home of Leonie's mother Kate Hutchinson after the toddler vanished.

Senior Constable Michael Morrall, who headed the original inquiry, told an inquest yesterday that he feared the toddler was dead after finding the note, which read: "Have good memories my angel Leonie. I love you."

"It indicated Leonie may be deceased," Constable Morrall said.

What happened to baby Leonie?

"She is referring to memories - 'my angel' - as if she may be in heaven."

Ms Hutchinson has always maintained that Leonie, who was two when she went missing in 2001, is alive and well, living with friends at an undisclosed location in NSW or Queensland.

She has refused to say who the mystery family was and after years of investigation police are yet to find a any evidence to back up her claims.

In a December 2004 television interview, played in court yesterday, she said her daughter was originally only going to visit the friends for a fortnight but ended up staying for good.

"She's safer where she is. They are wealthy and they can afford to protect her," she said.

The inquest heard yesterday how Ms Hutchinson changed from a caring mother with a little girl who was healthy and thriving to a deeply disturbed, drug-affected individual who would stare blankly into space and clam up when her daughter was mentioned.

Mental health workers who assessed Ms Hutchinson shortly before Leonie disappeared found nothing of concern.

She had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental health issues but there was no evidence of acute mental illness.

Mental health nurse Bronwyn Hamilton described Ms Hutchinson as "engaging" with a "lovely little girl".

But when she visited again in 2004 things were different. She said Ms Hutchinson was drug-affected and rambling. Tests confirmed cannabis and methamphetamines in her blood.

Former friends of Ms Hutchinson are expected to give evidence today relating to suggestions she was involved in witchcraft and satanic rituals.

 

Arrest Made In Baby Hutchinson Case

Filed in Recent News by  March 16, 2016 Scone.com.au

AT 7:30 am today police arrested a 43 year old female at her home in Evans Head and is expected to be charged with murder later today in Lismore court.

She has been arrested in relation to the disappearance of Leonie Astra Hutchinson who was believed to be 16 months old when she went missing from her home in Scone around January 2001.

Detectives from Strike Force Kanuna have been investigating the disappearance since the baby was reported missing in 2004, including detectives from Hunter Valley Local Area Command and the State crime command’s homicide squad.

There has also been a coronial inquest into her whereabouts.

Background to Missing Leonie

Filed in Recent News by  March 16, 2016 Scone.com.au

By Michael Flaherty

When I was a Federal Police agent working as a liaison officer with Centrelink I was asked to speak to Kate Hutchinson in 2007 about various Centrelink matters.

Before visiting her home at Kars Springs, I conducted some basic background information checks and it was then that I realised the full extent of this story.

When speaking with Kate Hutchinson outside her home she told me “Leonie is safe and happy where she is”.

It was a line she had maintained with many people previously.

When I probed further hoping she may elaborate, she remained steadfast in her response.

For a short time she disappeared inside her house to get some paperwork and we couldn’t help but feel on edge.

After we left her home we discussed the disturbing lack of emotion when she was talking about her missing daughter and how uneasy we both felt with her overall demeanour.

BACKGROUND ON THE CASE

Toddler Leonie Astra Hutchinson was last seen by Scone locals in December 2001.

In 2003 the Department of Community and Family Services began to hold concerns for Leonie’s welfare when her mother Kate Hutchinson evaded questions regarding her whereabouts.

In January 2004, New South Wales police listed Leonie as missing and set up strike force Kanuna, led by Detective Inspector Tim Seymour.

Despite extensive enquiries no trace of Leonie Hutchinson was found.

Police reported that Kate Hutchinson was suffering mental health issues at the time and was unable to assist police to locate Leonie.

 

Police examined the possibility that Leonie was in the care of others after speaking to Kate Hutchinson, however they were still unable to find the child, with Kate Hutchinson insisting Leonie was safe.

In December 2013 a coroner directed police to search a property in Stafford Street, Scone, but it failed to locate Leonie or result in an arrest at the time.

Previously in July 2001, when Leonie was only one year old the department of community and family services was alerted to the child being at risk of harm.

Later that year, after several home visits, the case was closed with the department satisfied Leonie was safe.

Kate Hutchinson had three other children at the time of Leonie’s disappearance all of whom were in the custody of Kate’s estranged mother Helen Hutchinson.

A Coronial inquest into the matter has been ongoing and has heard from relatives, friends, associates and professionals all whom still had no information as to the whereabouts of Leonie Hutchinson.

One of Kate Hutchinson’s friends gave evidence at the inquest that a conversation occurred between her and Kate Hutchinson in which Kate said she would be the bearer of a chosen child for sacrifice.

The inquest heard of Kate Hutchinsons’ mental health issues, witchcraft, satanic involvment, drug use and of a handwritten note found at her  Kars Springs home by police in 2004 which read “Have good memories my angel Leonie, I love you”.

Charged with Murder

Filed in Recent News by  March 16, 2016 Scone.com.au

POLICE have announced they have charged 43 year old Kate Hutchinson with the murder of her toddler Leonie Hutchinson this afternoon.

Ms Hutchinson presented in Lismore local court on one charge of murder and was refused bail, after being arrested by police at 7:30 this morning at her home in Evans Head.

She was remanded in custody and is due to appear in the same court on March 22.

The toddler was reported missing in 2004, but police believe she disappeared from her home in Scone sometime around January 2001.

Leonie Hutchinson murder: Mother charged 15 years after toddler’s disappearance

A HUNTER Valley mother, who an inquest heard was involved in witchcraft, has been charged with the murder of her 16-month-old baby daughter, who vanished without trace 15 years ago.


A HUNTER Valley mother has been charged with the murder of her 16-month-old baby daughter, who vanished without trace 15 years ago.

Kate Hutchinson, 43, was arrested by detectives from Strike Force Kahuna at her Evans Head home yesterday morning over the disappearance of Leonie Hutchinson in January, 2001.

The toddler was last seen alive at her home, but was only reported missing in 2004. Detective Chief Inspector Tim Seymour yesterday said the arrest of Ms Hutchinson was the culmination of a number of inquiries over more than a decade.

Police are continuing to investigate what happened to the toddler’s body.

A 2013 coronial inquest into the child’s disappearance heard the mother was involved in “witchcraft” and was paranoid about protecting the girl from paedophiles. A family friend said he believed the toddler was living in Byron Bay or Coffs Harbour, after the mother repeatedly told people her daughter was living with friends.

But police told the inquest it was believed the child’s body may have been “secreted” in a well on a property where the family previously lived.

Insp Seymour would not confirm whether that location was one that had been searched by investigators.

“We’ve conducted a lot of searches, and again I can’t comment on specifics, but we will continue searching,” he said.

“There’s always a degree of optimism that somebody is aware of what happened and where the remains are located.”

The girl’s grandmother only learnt of the toddler’s disappearance in 2004, after becoming estranged from her own daughter.

“It’s a difficult time. This is affecting the whole family. We are all very anxious,” she said in a statement at the time.

The 2013 coronial inquest heard that Ms Hutchinson, sometimes known to friends as “Rainbow”, had told people her daughter was living with friends.

Missing Scone baby: Mother to face eight week murder trial

The 43-year-old mother, who cannot be identified, appeared in the Sydney Supreme Court on Friday where she pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

Justice Peter Johnson adjourned the matter for an estimated eight-week trial to July 17, 2017. 

Police allege the woman murdered her daughter between Christmas Day, 2000, and February 28, 2001. 

 

The toddler wasn’t reported missing until 2004. Her remains have never been found. 

The court has previously been told the brief of evidence in the case is more than 6000 pages. Hunter Valley detectives and the Homicide Squad launched Strike Force Kununa to investigate the alleged murder. 

An extensive investigation culminated in the woman’s arrest at her home at Evans Head, on the NSW north coast, in March this year. 
 

Three inquests – in 2011, 2012 and 2013, were held in relation to the toddler’s disappearance. 

The woman remains on bail. 

Mother accused of murdering Hunter Valley toddler told Red Cross she was 'in a better place', court hears

Posted 

The mother of a toddler who disappeared from New South Wale's Hunter Valley 16 years ago told the Red Cross she was "in a better place" with people who could care for her, a court has heard.

The woman, 44, is on trial for murder and Crown prosecutor Lee Carr told the court she disposed of the child's body which has never been found.

Neither the mother nor the child can be named for legal reasons.

"There is no direct evidence to prove the offence of murder and the Crown relies on a circumstantial case, but the Crown describes that as substantial," Mr Carr said.

The little girl was last seen at a Christmas function in Scone at the end of 2000.

Police believe her mother murdered her sometime between December 2000 and December 2001.

Officers began investigating the case in 2004 when the woman gave birth to another child and the older daughter, who would have been four by then, was nowhere to be seen.

At the time, the mother lived on a rural property outside Scone.

Mother says her daughter 'in a better place'

The court heard the mother and her daughter were visited by child protection officials on numerous occasions prior to the last sighting of the child.

The Crown said following these visits, the accused had spoken to her friend and landlord about the possibility he could adopt the child, because she was afraid she would be taken by authorities.

The court heard she later told staff at a Red Cross store her daughter was "in a better place" being cared for by people more capable than her.

The prosecutor said the mother had given a variety of explanations to those asking about her daughter's whereabouts, most involving the girl living with a couple in Forster and Byron Bay.

"The accused would say [the child] is alive, she is safe, she is living with a couple in an informal, non-documented, non-adoptive type caring environment," Mr Carr said.

"To date, no person has come forward as identifying themselves as caring for the child or having seen the child since 2001."

He said an exhaustive police search of schools, Medicare and even immigration databases had failed to find any evidence of any alternative living arrangements or any trace of the girl.

In his opening statement, the woman's barrister Tim Gartelmann told the court the defence would be disputing all aspects of the prosecution's case.

"There is no evidence at all as to how [the child] died, if she did," Mr Gartelmann said.

The trial is expected to go for up to five weeks.

Woman accused of murdering her baby daughter was obsessed with 'wolfman', court hears

Posted 

A woman accused of murdering her infant child became obsessed with a "wolfman" to whom she believed she may have to make a sacrifice, the Supreme Court has heard.

The 44-year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly killed the 16-month-old child in 2000 or 2001 while she was living in New South Wales' Hunter region.

It took until 2004 for authorities to realise the child was missing and a body has never been found.

A friend of the accused who described herself as a "Wiccan" told the court she had introduced the woman to "white" witchcraft while both were living on the Central Coast in the late 1990s, prior to the birth of the alleged victim.

She said the way of life was similar to a religion and did not involve satanic worship or dark magic.

The friend said the accused's behaviour then suddenly changed and she became much "darker".

"She really withdrew into herself. It was like something had darkened her. Not evil, but darkened her," the friend said.

She said the pair smoked cannabis together and in 1997 the accused went on a three-day LSD trip where the court heard she told her friend she physically went to a clifftop location.

The wolfman, the hill and the alien ship

When she returned, the friend said she was scared and preoccupied with a "wolfman" she said she had seen who rode a motorbike.

"She said that he had been after her and that she was scared of him, and that she had to find her chosen man, and he would help her have a little girl," the friend said the accused had told her.

"She was really honestly truly scared of this person.

"It would always go back to the wolfman. It was always brought up."

When the accused's barrister Tim Gartelmann asked whether she may be misremembering, the friend disagreed.

"That story will never leave me," she said.

Girl 'seemed happy', father says

Another friend gave similar evidence about the preoccupation with the "wolfman".

The court also heard from the father of the missing girl, who told the court the accused became evasive when he asked about the girl's whereabouts.

He was not living with the accused at the time.

He said the woman had told him the young girl was staying with another family but would not show him where.

She had reportedly previously called him and said she was not coping with the child, and asked if he could take the girl, before changing her mind.

He said he was not concerned about the interest in Wiccan practices.

"You'd see something with stars and moons and things, but it was a nice type of stuff," he said.

The father said on the occasions he did see the accused with the alleged victim, the girl seemed happy and well cared for.

Mother found not guilty of murdering toddler in Scone due to mental illness

ABC Newcastle
By Declan Gooch
Posted 

A New South Wales woman has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness of murdering her 16-month-old daughter, who was last seen in the NSW Hunter Valley in 2000.

The 44-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was accused of murdering the girl, who can only be known as 'Astra', when she lived at Scone.

A body has never been found, but Supreme Court justice Robert Hulme found the woman had killed the child while the woman was suffering from schizophrenia.

The Newcastle court heard the woman suffered delusions in the lead-up to the girl's birth, including drug-induced hallucinations about a bloodthirsty wolfman who might want a child sacrifice.

Prosecutors characterised the woman as a mother facing serious mental health issues, who was unable to cope with raising the child.

Astra was born in 1999, after the woman's three sons were removed from her custody and raised by the woman's mother.

Delusions about Satanism

Numerous witnesses gave evidence that the woman's behaviour was increasingly bizarre in the years leading up to the birth.

The court heard evidence that following an LSD trip on the Central Coast in 1997, the woman began to suffer delusions about a "wolfman" who rode a motorbike, and to whom she might have to sacrifice a baby girl.

"It would always go back to the wolfman. It was always brought up," one former friend told the court.

The witness told the court the mother was a Wiccan, practising so-called "white" witchcraft.

A mental health worker told the court on a different occasion the woman was experiencing delusions about Satanism during a stay at a Maitland psychiatric hospital in 2004.

Attempt to give girl away

Former acquaintances told the court the 16-month-old girl was absent after late 2000, and they were told she had been adopted out to another family so she would not be taken by child protection authorities.

But the court heard the woman would not say who or where the family was — only that she was not able to take back custody of the girl, and that she had changed her name.

A couple that was friends with the woman offered to adopt the girl, but the court heard the woman abandoned the idea when she found out they wanted to contact a solicitor and organise the adoption through proper channels.

A mental health worker also told the court the woman said she had given the girl away because she needed protection from a paedophile ring operating in Scone.

Summing up the Crown case, prosecutor Lee Carr said the explanations for the child's absence were "lies that are told with a conscience of guilt".

"They are evasive, they are not consistent, they change like the wind," he said.

But the woman's barrister, Tim Gartelmann SC, said extensive searches of adoption, school, medical and other records by authorities could not rule out the possibility the girl was still alive.

"Collectively, they may show a low degree of probability that [the girl] exists, but they do not allow you to rule that out," he said, summing up the defence case.

The girl would have turned 18 on Thursday.

The woman's bail has been continued.

She is due back in court on October 17 to determine appropriate orders under the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act.