Hours after his former partner was jailed over the death of their four-year-old son, Tyrell Cobb’s father has spoken for the first time.
Jason Cobb, who was with Heidi Strbak for four years, told A Current Affair the woman, and her new partner Matthew Scown could ‘rot in hell’ for their role in the child’s death.
‘If they’re responsible, then rot in hell,’ he told the program in response to the sentence handed out to Strbak on Monday.
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.
Jason Cobb, father of four-year-old Tyrell, has broken his silence just hours after his former partner was sentenced to jail for her role in the boy’s death
Gold Coast mother Heidi Strbak was sentenced to nine years’ jail for the manslaughter of her four-year-old son Tyrell Cobb on Monday
Jason Cobb, biological father of Tyrell Cobb was seen outside the Supreme Court on Monday, and later that night said Strbak could ‘rot in hell’ for her role in his son’s death
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’.
Mr Cobb, who did not see his son regularly due to distance, but endeavoured to call the child every night, said Tyrell had never alluded to anything going wrong, other than his hat being hit off his head.
He said he would remember his son as a ‘happy little boy… playful and cheeky’.
The devastated father said he had asked his former partner multiple times what had caused the death of his young son, but was always brushed off.
‘She said she “didn’t want to talk about it”,’ he said.
Strbak pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her son but denied inflicting the fatal blunt force trauma
Much of the disturbing evidence revealed in the lengthy trial of Strbak and Scown was previously unknown to Mr Cobb.
He told the program upon learning the truth about his son’s final months on earth, he felt no pity for Strbak, who has been sentenced to a maximum of nine years jail.
‘If she gets what she deserves I will be happy… she can go to jail and I’ll be happy,’ he said.
Tyrell Cobb died in 2009 after two separate blows to his abdomen
‘Not happy, but happy for Tyrell, justice.’
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’.
‘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.
Tyrell was found unconscious at a Biggera Waters home on May 24, 2009 and was pronounced dead in hospital
Justice Peter Applegarth (pictured) found Strbak was primarily to blame for Tyrell’s injuries and his lack of medical care
Family and friends of Heidi Strbak are seen arriving at the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday
‘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.
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.
Mr Cobb told A Current Affair the laugh was ‘a slap in the face’.
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 was pictured laughing as he left court, which Mr Cobb said was a ‘slap in the face’
Justice Martin Burns said Scown was not responsible for the injuries that killed Tyrell but failed in his duty of care.
While Scown did not cause the injuries he did not contact authorities or seek medical help, even when Tyrell was vomiting green bile the night before his death.
‘You ought to have acted,’ Justice Burns said.
‘From the time of injury until death every movement including breathing and vomiting would have caused extreme pain.’