Authorities allowed a six-year-old girl who died from suspected malnutrition to stay at home despite being exposed to drug abuse and domestic violence.
Charlie was found unresponsive at her family’s housing commission home in Munno Para, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, in the early hours of Friday morning.
Her tragic death at the home – which is strewn with old toys, boxes, a tent and electric appliances – sparked a major crimes investigation by police and has led her five siblings to be taken into the care of the state as their mother is investigated for criminal neglect.
But court documents show the family was already known to at least three government agencies – including the Department of Child Protection.
In January last year, Charlie and her siblings watched their ‘drug-fuelled’ father stab their mother multiple times – including to the neck – at their home.
But despite the children witnessing the horrifying attack – and their father’s history of domestic violence and drug use – authorities did not remove them.
Charlie (pictured) was raced to Lyell McEwin Hospital in the early hours of Friday morning in Adelaide’s north
Charlie (pictured) died on the floor of her mother’s house in an alleged case of criminal neglect
Charlie’s aunt – wearing a pink hoodie with a slogan that read ‘but did you die? #mumlife’ – lashed out at media outside the home on Tuesday when asked how her mother was feeling.
‘How do you think she’s feeling? Her daughter just died in her arms! Of course she’s upset.’
One neighbour, Bec, told Daily Mail Australia the girl’s mum had raised the alarm late at night – leading her to do everything she could to try and save Charlie’s life.
‘It was about 1am and we were about to go to sleep, and we heard this banging on the door. Charlie’s mum was screaming “Charlie isn’t breathing!” so we raced over there.
‘She was on the floor in a nappy and she was paper white … and when I touched her she was stone cold and her eyes were open and fixated on the ceiling.
‘We did everything to try and get Charlie to breathe.’
Bec’s sister desperately tried to resuscitate Charlie.
When they rolled her onto her side they noticed there was something in the girl’s mouth.
They frantically tried to clear her airway, before rolling her onto her back, and trying CPR again.
Paramedics arrived soon after and worked on Charlie for half an hour.
Charlie’s aunt arrived that afternoon, wearing a pink hoodie with a slogan that read: ‘But did you die? #mumlife (pictured, left)
The house Charlie died in was surrounded by junk – old toys, a tent, bikes and a disused freezer
The cause of death is still unknown, but a neighbour said Charlie had something in her throat when she died (family home, pictured)
They tried to clear her windpipe to get a breathing tube down her throat.
Bec said: ‘Paramedics were able get the breathing tube in after a lot of suction, but even though they managed to get air into her lungs, her heart didn’t want to start.
‘They pronounced her dead in hospital, but she was gone before that.’
The mum-of-five said the image of Charlie on the floor wearing a nappy, dying on the floor, paper-white and stone-cold is burned into her mind.
Bec and her sister tried to keep Charlie’s siblings away from the horrific scene. They were distraught over what was happening to their sister.
When asked about the cause of death, Bec said she didn’t know whether she choked to death or whether there were health issues going on that no one knew about.
However, she noted that no one saw Charlie for the last few weeks of her life because she was suffering a mystery illness.
She also said the girl and her siblings never looked healthy. They often had head lice, which Bec tried her best to help with.
Pictured: The front of the house Charlie died in, which has a single swing out the front
‘After a while, she came over less and less and then she wasn’t allowed to come over and play with my two-year-old daughter, and she wasn’t allowed to leave the house,’ Bec said.
Other children in the neighbourhood who also used to play with Charlie said they didn’t see her towards the end of her life either.
Bec remembered Charlie as a ‘beautiful’ girl who was shy, but always smiling happy, and carried around a pink teddy bear.
She used to ride around the yard in a small child’s bike with Bec’s toddler, who Charlie adored.
Bec said the ‘system’ had failed Charlie, accusing the Department of Child Protection of not doing enough to save her.
Paramedics were so concerned they rang police before Charlie was even admitted to hospital, officials said.
Charlie’s family was known to police and at least three other government agencies, according to authorities.
Investigators will now probe what interactions they have had in the years leading up to her death.
Charlie’s uncle, who cannot be named for legal reasons, expressed disbelief about what had happened.
‘It’s f***ed,’ he said. ‘I didn’t find out on Friday – I found out she died on Monday.’
SA Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams said the six-year-old’s living conditions were ‘poor’ and said it was too early to determine if her death could have been prevented.
She could not confirm the last time Charlie had been seen or even attended school.
A special taskforce has been formed to investigate her death and the circumstances behind it.
Debris, including an old mattress, bedding, and unused rabbit hutch, were seen scattered around the yard of the home on Tuesday
The grass was overgrown and the yard littered with kids toys and miscellaneous items
Task Force Prime will investigate possible criminal neglect charges relating to her five siblings living in the same house.
All of them have been removed from the home and are now in the care of the state’s Department for Child Protection.
Acting Premier Susan Close said a government review would investigate the interactions between Charlie’s family and the state’s human services, child protection, education and housing agencies.
The chief executive of the Department of Premier and Cabinet will determine which services were engaged, how they collaborated, how effective they were, and what changes might be required.
Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said these were ‘absolutely tragic and heart breaking circumstances’ and offered her sympathies to Charlie’s family.
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