Tragic details emerge of toddlers who died in hot car as mom napped at home after playing on phone
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: This article contains distressing content that could be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised.
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: Two little girls, who died after their negligent mother left them in a sweltering car, were reportedly found with blisters and burns on their bodies and their skin was peeling off when paramedics tried to revive them, prosecutors told an Australian court. The children - identified as two-year-old Darcy-Helen and her sister, one-year-old Chloe-Ann - died on November 23, 2019, inside their mother Kerri-Ann Conley's car outside their Logan City home, south of Brisbane.
Conley pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of her little girls at Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 14. During the hearing, the court was told that the mother smoked ice the day before the incident, visited her friend's house with the children, and drove home only to leave the children restrained in the Mazda sedan at 4 am. She parked the vehicle under no shadow and went inside her home to use her cell phone and take a nap. She reportedly took the girls out after 1.30 pm, after she woke up. But by this point, the girls had already died as the temperature rose up to 142 F throughout the day, Daily Mail reported.
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'Their skin was peeling off'
Crown prosecutor Sarah Dennis told the court that the children’s bodies were covered in blisters and their skin was peeling off when paramedics tried to treat them. "The skin was peeling off as the paramedics performed CPR," Dennis said. Autopsies confirmed the girls died of hyperthermia, but failed to determine the exact time of their deaths. "This is not a case of an unfortunate lapse in memory … the deaths of these children could have been easily avoided," she told the court.
During the initial investigation, the officials found a home surveillance footage in which Conley is seen disposing of a plastic bag in a bin. They later searched the bag and found several small clip-seal bags, which they suspected contained residue of drugs. The court also reviewed some phone records that stated Conley was using her mobile phone until after 5 am while her children were still inside the car. The prosecutor further alleged that Conley attempted to minimize her role by giving investigators a fake story of what occurred the previous evening.
'Frequent and heavy' drug user
In her submission, Denise said neighbors had previously seen Conley leaving her girls in the car. However, the mother explained these instances claiming the children were asleep and "difficult" to settle once woken. The prosecutor added that the two little girls were "entirely defenseless" as they had no way of freeing themselves from the flaming vehicle. "It represents a complete abrogation of her duties as the mother and primary carer of her children," she said. Denise also alleged Conley was a "heavy and frequent" drug user, stating traces of the drug ice as well as amphetamines were found in her blood.