A mother who left her children to die in a hot car sent a chilling message to the father of one of the girls, telling him she had left her in the car ‘all night’ after falling asleep on the sofa, an investigation has heard.
Kerri-Ann Conley’s alleged text message was sent years before her daughters Darcey Helen and Chloe-Ann Conley died of hyperthermia outside their Waterford West home in 2019 as the investigation into their deaths in Brisbane continues.
Witnesses revealed details of Conley’s disturbing drug use and comments on the first day, including concerns his ex-partner had for the girls’ safety.
Darcey-Helen and Chloe-Ann died after their mother left them in a hot car outside their home in Waterford West, south of Brisbane, on November 23 that year.
Conley is serving a nine-year prison sentence for his killings, but will be eligible for parole later this year.
The investigation is examining the events leading up to the girls’ deaths, as well as the responses of Child Safety, Metro South Health and the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
Kerri-Ann Conley is serving a nine-year prison sentence for the involuntary manslaughter of her daughters, who were less than three years old when they were left to die in a hot car.
Conley’s drug use, including his heavy use of methylamphetamine and whether this put the girls at risk, will be placed under the microscope.
On Monday, Deanne Power gave evidence that she lost her cool with Conley because he “wasn’t doing anything around the house” while he was living with her.
It also caused a rift with her son Peter Jackson, Darcey-Helen’s biological father.
Power said her son and Conley were not living together at Christmas 2017, but described their relationship as “good.”
Power said Jackson went to Child Safety concerned about Conley’s behavior and read a text message he had received from Conley to a Child Safety operator.
The court was told the text used words such as: “I fell asleep in the lounge. Oops! I left Chloe in the car all night.”
Power said she didn’t know about Chloe-Ann’s birth until Conley came into her house with “another baby” in 2018.
Power said Darcey-Helen’s father wanted his son away from Conley’s care.
On one occasion, the girl was hospitalized and Ms Power told the court she found Darcey-Helen “banging her head” against a wall and trying to climb it while at the Conley home.
Two-year-old Darcey-Helen Conley (left) and 18-month-old Chloe-Ann died (right) after their mother, Kerri-Ann Conley, left them in a car for more than nine hours.
“I said (to Peter), ‘He must have drugs in his system,'” Mrs. Power said.
Former child care educator Sandra Cowan spoke of her interactions with Conley while caring for Darcey at her daycare.
She told the court that a parent who had a child at her center informed her that Conley “wasn’t coping” with his two children.
Cowan said Conley eventually arranged for Darcey-Helen to attend the center twice a week for about six hours a day.
“The first few weeks he was very well behaved about everything,” Mrs Cowan said.
“Then it started going downhill.
‘I used to text him asking if he would come. Darcey was almost never part of the beginning of the show… there were times I would meet Darcey in the car because Kerri-Ann was in a hurry.’
Cowan said she gave Conley the benefit of the doubt, trying to be flexible when he was late dropping Darcey off at the center or picking her up until 5:30 p.m.
A former child care worker testified that Darcey-Helen Conley (pictured) said the child seemed tired, had low energy, and seemed neglected and hungry during her final months of day care. Photo: facebook
Chloe-Ann Conley. Photo: facebook
He said Conley often gave “frivolous” excuses for why she was late, such as that she and the girls were “asleep.” The court was told she also did not provide Darcey with supplies, such as food or diapers, when she dropped them off at daycare. .
Cowan said Darcey “always seemed tired” and didn’t seem to have much energy during her final months at daycare.
On other occasions, the girl was “foraging” and Mrs. Cowan had to bathe her.
“Darcey was starting to show those signs that she seemed neglected… she was starting to get diaper rash,” Mrs Cowan said.
“I would give her a bath just to make sure she felt loved.”
Cowan said Conley was able to pay for Darcey to attend but began to fall behind.
The situation finally culminated when Mrs. Cowan set up a system to alert Conley when it was time to pick up Darcey.
Darcey-Helen’s great-aunt Deborah Jackson gave evidence of her interactions with Conley, initially describing her as a “very quiet girl” when she was first introduced.
The Brisbane Coroner’s Court was told Conley was “upset” to find out she was pregnant with Darcey-Helen, and even threatened to “leave” the baby on Mr Jackson’s doorstep.
Despite this, Jackson said Conley loved his daughter.
Jackson said Darcey-Helen was left alone with Jackson’s 13-year-old daughter several times, including after her birth, while Conley left the hospital to smoke a cigarette.
When a nurse confronted her about leaving the baby with a minor, Jackson said Conley responded, “It’s my baby, I’ll do whatever I want.”
She gave evidence that Mr. Jackson did not approve of Conley’s drug use, and at one point discovered a glass pipe and marijuana under the seat of his car.
The court was told Conley had been involved in car accidents while Darcey-Helen was in the car, one of which ended in a ditch after taking a bend on the M1 motorway.
Another time, he climbed onto a traffic island after leaving the Hungry Jack’s parking lot.
Jackson said Conley was angry that Child Safety officers became involved with her family and described a confrontation she had with Jackson at her home.
The inquest heard Mr Jackson (pictured) did not approve of Conley’s drug use, and at one point discovered a glass pipe and marijuana under the seat of his car.
“Kerri wanted to know who brought her into Child Safety,” Mrs. Jackson said.
She said Conley then “threw” the young woman toward Mr. Jackson and stormed off.
Ms Jackson gave evidence that Conley eventually moved into his own unit in Kingston while she shared custody of the child.
“It was like a bomb had been dropped inside,” Mrs Jackson told the court.
“She was dirty, never cleaned, there were dishes everywhere and she had too much furniture.”
Other witnesses, including Mr. Jackson, must testify during the five-day investigation.
Tamra Jackson, Mr. Jackson’s cousin, also gave evidence that she suspected Conley of using drugs while caring for Darcey-Helen.
He said there were times Conley wouldn’t answer his phone, leave his house and not return for days.
In her testimony, Tamra told the court that Jackson found drug paraphernalia in the glove compartment of her car.
He explained that Conley constantly used the excuse that he was “saving it for a friend.”
“She (Conley) never came out of it,” Tamara said.
In her testimony, Tamra said Conley had admitted to “purchasing urine” to provide clean drug test samples and that Child Safety staff knew of his drug use.
One text message, allegedly sent by a support worker to Tamra, urged Conley to “stay away from that s**t if you can.”
“They clearly knew she was using,” Tamra said.
The court was told Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured with Darcey-Helen) angrily scolded a nurse who confronted Conley about leaving her daughter in the company of a minor shortly after her birth.
During Conley’s sentencing last year, the Brisbane Supreme Court was told both children died of hyperthermia as a result of being left in the hot car.
Conley had returned from a friend’s house with the girls around 4 a.m. that morning and parked the car outside her home in Waterford West.
She didn’t get her kids out of their car seats and go inside, fussing with her phone and falling asleep.
Temperatures rose as high as 61.5C that day until Conley removed them about nine hours later.
Conley threw a small plastic bag containing drug residue into the trash before calling Mr. Jackson and triple-0.
The inquest, before state coroner Terry Ryan, continues.
