Griffith woman accused of toddler manslaughter remains on bail as case delayed

A Griffith woman who was accused of manslaughter following the death of a two-year-old in April 2024 will remain on bail as her case faces further delays.

The woman, one of two people charged after the alleged manslaughter, was due to face a committal hearing at Griffith Local Court on Thursday (6 March), in which the magistrate was to decide whether there was enough evidence to take the matter to trial.

However, her lawyer David Davidge told the court she was unable to attend the hearing due to a “difficulty with transport”.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Bungarten also said the case would need to be delayed due to problems with the postmortem – the examination of the toddler’s body to determine the cause of death.

Sergeant Bungarten said the postmortem required analysis by an ophthalmologist, a doctor who specialised in diagnosing and treating eye injuries.

“The only one in the state who can do that is on a three-month sabbatical,” he said.

Magistrate Pauline Wright agreed the matter needed to be delayed and rescheduled the committal hearing for 5 June.

“It’s most unfortunate that this has been delayed but in the interest of justice it is unavoidable that this is the case,” she said.

Court documents reveal that the woman is on bail. Her bail conditions will remain unchanged at least until the 5 June hearing.

A man was also charged with manslaughter in relation to the same two-year-old and was also due to face a committal hearing on Thursday. His matter was also postposed to 5 June. Court documents reveal he was refused bail and is in custody.

Region cannot name either the man or the woman due to NSW laws that prevent the publication of information that may identify a child victim of an alleged manslaughter.

The alleged incident has received considerable national media attention.

Police said the toddler arrived at Griffith Base Hospital with significant head injuries on 1 December 2023 and was airlifted to Sydney Children’s Hospital, but died two days later.

At a court hearing on the matter on 4 April 2024, Police Prosecutor Sergeant Pike said the man was allegedly the driver of the vehicle that caused the death of a small child and that he was reportedly affected by drugs before the collision.

According to court documents, the man was charged with allegedly causing the death of the toddler in circumstances that amount to manslaughter, involving gross negligence in failing to provide medical care. The alleged incident occurred between 27 November 2023 and 1 December 2023.

No further information on the alleged incident was provided at Thursday’s hearing.