A man who murdered a three-year-old girl after inflicting severe physical abuse and punishment on her has been sentenced to life in prison.
Tane Saul Desatge, 45, was found guilty in the Queensland Supreme Court in Toowoomba of murdering and torturing Kaydence Hazel Mills sometime between February 16 and May 6, 2017 in Chinchilla, west of Brisbane.
Following a trial in which only one judge sat, Judge Sean Cooper found that Desatge caused Kaydence’s death by hitting her on the head and face with a bamboo stick with the intent to at least cause grievous bodily harm.
Judge Cooper sentenced Desatge to life in prison on Thursday, with the 1,066 days he spent in pretrial detention recognised as time served.
He will be eligible for parole in March 2042.
Kaydence’s mother and Desatge’s fiancée at the time, Sinitta Tammy Dawita, was acquitted of murder and torture at the same trial.
Kaydence had been subjected to increasing violence prior to her death, with Desatge hitting her more frequently with the stick.
“I find that Mr Desatge had a significant degree of animosity towards (Kaydence’s father) and this animosity influenced his feelings towards Kaydence and his treatment of her,” Judge Cooper said.
Tane Saul Desatge was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years behind bars after being found guilty of murdering his stepdaughter Kaydence Hazel Mills (pictured)
Relatives told Judge Cooper during the trial that increasingly visible bruises, often in straight lines, appeared on the girl and that she was repeatedly forced to eat her own feces.
Kaydence was last seen alive lying on a red couch with her eyes closed and motionless in the family home, with bruises on her head and face.
Desatge and Dawita concealed Kaydence’s death by wrapping her body in garbage bags and initially placing her in the outhouse in their backyard.
The couple moved her body to Chinchilla Weir, where she was buried until her body was discovered in March 2020.
Desatge and Dawita had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with a corpse.
Dawita was previously sentenced to 18 months in prison and with time served she will be eligible for parole on September 23.
The three-year-old girl (pictured right) died in Chinchilla, west of Brisbane, sometime between 16 February and 6 May 2017.