Mother ‘casually lit a cigarette’ before discovering toddlers dead in car

She told police she had fallen asleep in her bed and, after waking up, went outside where she found the children in the car and brought them inside.

Loading

“After she brought them inside [Conley] had placed them under the shower to cool the children down before contacting [the girls’ father] Peter Jackson and then contacting triple-0,” the investigating officer told the inquest on Tuesday.

“Upon exiting the [house], CCTV depicts [Conley] lighting a cigarette casually before walking down the steps and identifying the children were still in the vehicle.”

The inquest heard the footage then showed Conley leaving the house at 1.26pm – about 11 minutes after she had found the children. According to the officer, Conley could be seen holding a plastic bag and walking “casually to a wheelie bin” near the road.

“She then places the plastic bag into the wheelie bin before casually walking back inside to the address,” the officer said.

The officer told the court the CCTV was then disconnected by Conley, and the footage ended.

The girls’ father, Peter Jackson, also gave evidence on Tuesday, and briefly saw Conley when a video-link between the court and her jail malfunctioned.

Jackson was only a few minutes into his evidence when Conley unexpectedly appeared on screen.

An emotional Jackson appeared shocked, asking “can I have a minute?“, before the hearing was adjourned by State Coroner Terry Ryan.

The five-day inquest began on Monday, and has so far heard evidence from Jackson’s family members, who claimed the girls were in danger, and knew of several instances where Conley had left the girls in the car. The inquest is focusing on the Department of Child Safety’s involvement in the lead-up to the deaths.

Jackson agreed that Conley had disappeared for days in the months before they died, and told the court that he had found evidence of drug use during their relationship.

Counsel assisting the inquest Simon Hamlyn-Harris questioned Jackson over his interactions with child safety officers, including after Darcey-Helen was removed from Conley by the department in November 2017.

Jackson told the inquiry that he would have preferred to care for Darcey-Helen at his home, but the idea was “shot down like a lead balloon” – mostly by Conley, he clarified.

Darcey-Helen’s birth certificate did not have Jackson listed as the father, the inquest heard. Jackson said he was advised he could take a DNA test to prove he was her father, but at the time, could not afford to pay for the test.

Jackson said in the weeks before the girls died he contacted a solicitor to seek legal advice about the situation.

“I couldn’t get an appointment until November 26, 2019,” he said.

The inquest continues, and is expected to hear evidence from police and child safety officers and health workers.