‘I need my baby, I want my little girl’: Aboriginal mum pleaded not to leave her four-month-old baby girl behind as police took her into custody – and her daughter then died at home
- A local resident says mother ‘begged’ police not to separated form her baby girl
- The 21-year-old Aboriginal woman was arrested at her home last Sunday in NT
- While in custody her four-month-old was left with the father and grandfather
- During that time the baby died and now Indigenous groups want ‘answers’
An Aboriginal mother ‘begged’ police not to be separated from her baby, just hours before the four-month-old died, a neighbour has claimed .
The 21-year-old woman was arrested last Sunday at a unit complex in Katherine East in the Northern Territory, following reports of ‘quarrelling’. But her baby girl died while she was in custody.
Police left the child, along with the woman’s other five-year-old daughter, with their father and grandfather who had been drinking, the ABC reported.
An Aboriginal mother ‘begged’ police not to be separated from her baby, just hours before the four-month-old died, neighbour Jason Fuller has revealed
Local resident Jason Fuller told the national broadcaster: ‘She was saying: ‘I need my baby, I want my little girl’ she was begging the cops, wanted to get back her child.
‘And the cops refused and told her: ‘look, it’s five o’clock in the morning now – you have to wait for a couple of hours and then you come back and get your baby.’
Mr Fuller said he heard the distraught mother return from custody a few hours later.
‘When she got back from the watch house she was crying and smashing everything,’ he said.
‘She was crying herself to death.’
Northern Territory police are not treating the baby’s death as suspicious, but say a report will be prepared for the Coroner and a thorough investigation is underway.
The tragic death comes one week after 60,000 demonstrators descended on Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide to protest against racial inequality and the rate of Aboriginal deaths in custody.
Prominent figures within Katherine’s Indigenous community are now calling for answers into why the woman was separated from her child.
The 21-year-old mother was arrested last Sunday at a unit complex in Katherine East in the Northern Territory (pictured), following reports of ‘quarrelling’. While in custody, her baby girl died
‘What took place is totally unacceptable,’ Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Lisa Mumbin said.
‘I really believe there needs to be answers.
‘There needs to be a gathering of leaders and more information and more action coming from the authorities, it’s a very serious matter and it’s very painful.’
In the wake of the incident, Colleen Gwynne, the Northern Territory’s Children’s Commissioner has asked police for further information.
‘The Children’s Commissioner is aware of the tragic death of the baby in Katherine and received a briefing on Wednesday morning,’ Ms Gwynne said.
‘The Commissioner has formally requested further information and is undertaking preliminary enquiries including a review of family history and interactions with services.’