A Gold Coast mother has been sentenced to nine years’ jail for the manslaughter of her four-year-old son.
Tyrell Cobb died on May 24, 2009 after two separate blows to his abdomen caused internal bleeding and the leaking of his stomach contents, leading to peritonitis.
Heidi Strbak pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November but denied inflicting the fatal blunt force trauma.
But Justice Peter Applegarth found Strbak was the perpetrator of Tyrell’s abuse and did not seek medical help to avoid a child protection investigation into his ‘constellation of injuries’.
Gold Coast mother Heidi Strbak has been sentenced to nine years’ jail for the manslaughter of her four-year-old son Tyrell Cobb
Strbak pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her son but denied inflicting the fatal blunt force trauma
Strbak was sentenced in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday to nine years’ jail, but the 34-year-old will be eligible for parole in October 2021.
Strbak, who silently sobbed throughout the hearing, had told the court it was an ‘injustice’ she was being blamed for the fatal injuries to her son.
‘I have not caused the injuries that I am being blamed for and I believe that it is a mistake,’ she said on Monday.
Defence barrister Greg McGuire had argued Strbak had been made ‘public enemy number one’ by negative publicity.
Justice Applegarth said it was easy for a legitimately concerned public to perceive Strbak as being ‘some kind of monster’ but the tragic fact was her case was only ‘the tip of an iceberg of child abuse’.
Tyrell was found unconscious at a Biggera Waters home on May 24, 2009 and was pronounced dead in hospital
‘It’s very easy to see her as a one in a million when we have a big problem in this community with the care of infants and young children,’ he said.
‘The tragic fact is that there are tens of thousands of young mothers who can be frustrated and distressed and verbally abuse their infants or physically abuse them.
‘Unless we as a community learn from this case, it’s inevitable there will be another case like it.’
Tyrell was found unconscious at a Biggera Waters home on May 24, 2009 and was pronounced dead in hospital.
Strbak’s ex-partner Matthew Scown walked from court last in October after being sentenced to four years jail for manslaughter, having already spent two years and eight months in custody
A pathologist found more than 70 injuries on his body and said he suffered internal bleeding and a severe abdominal injury in Strbak’s original bail hearing.
Strbak’s ex-partner Matthew Scown walked from court last in October after being sentenced to four years jail for manslaughter, having already spent two years and eight months in custody.
Scown, 34, grinned and laughed when questioned by reporters after the Supreme Court in Brisbane suspended his sentence.
More to come.