Friends of a mother whose baby drowned in a bathtub have rushed to defend her after it emerged that child services were investigating her before the girl’s death.
Ariah Louise McGillvery-Bourke died on September 19 in Launceston, Tasmania, days after authorities received two notifications fearing for her safety.
The tip-offs made allegations about her mother Makayla McGillvery’s parenting and the Child Safety Service began an assessment.
Ariah Louise McGillvery-Bourke (L) drowned on September 19 in Launceston, Tasmania while her mother Makayla McGillvery (R) was bathing her
The seven-month-old baby girl died days after authorities received two notifications fearing for her safety
Close friends of the 19-year-old mother said she never touched drugs or alcohol after she became pregnant and was devoted to her baby.
‘If Makayla ever neglected Ariah I would have told someone, or her straight to her face,’ they told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Ariah was very well cared for and loved by her mother and father, Makayla was a beauty of a mother and would never neglect her.
‘None of the allegations are true, it’s completely and utterly false and wrong, we know everything there is to know about her.
‘There is nothing bad I could ever say about her as a parent, it was just a horrific accident.’
The tip-offs made claims about her mother Ms McGillvery’s parenting and the Child Safety Service began an assessment
Close friends of Ms McGillvery said she never touched drugs or alcohol after she became pregnant and was devoted to her baby
Her friends said Ariah’s mother and her father Daniel Bourke were so distraught they could only stay at the the wake on Tuesday for 20 minutes, and they were doing their best to keep her spirits up.
‘At the funeral we were trying to crack jokes, and the other day we were looking at videos of her and laughing about how cheeky she was,’ they said.
Police investigating her death raided CSS offices in Launceston on Tuesday, the same day as the little girl’s funeral, armed with a search warrant.
Concerns were first raised about the baby’s welfare on September 7 and again on September 12, according to Tasmanian Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma.
‘An assessment was actively being undertaken,’ she said.
‘I am advised the parent and baby were last visited by a child health nurse on September 11, 2017.’
Concerns were first raised about the baby’s welfare on September 7 and again on September 12, according to Tasmanian Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma.
Ariah’s mother and father have so far kept silent, but the baby’s extended family flooded social media with tributes to their ‘little angel’
Ariah’s mother and father have so far kept silent, but the baby’s extended family flooded social media with tributes to their ‘little angel’.
‘Today my heart shattered into a millions pieces and will never be the same again,’ her grandmother Melissa McGillvery wrote.
‘Nanny will never forget you my little bubbles and I’ll hold every memory of you close to my heart every day.
‘I wish this was all a bad dream and that I could wake up and see that cheeky little smile with your tongue out or that little squeal of yours and feed you up on white frogs.
‘Until we meet again my precious little angel RIP nanny will forever love you.’
‘Ariah was very well cared for and loved by her mother and father, Makayla was a beauty of a mother and would never neglect her,’ friends said
Ariah’s father Daniel Bourke, along with Ms McGillvery, had to leave their baby’s wake after 20 minutes because they were too distraught
Ms McGillvery’s sister Montana said she was woken up by a phone call with the ‘heartbreaking’ news that her niece was dead.
‘Being there to watch and welcome you into this world had to have been one of the best experiences, only to find out months later that your precious little life was taken away so soon,’ she wrote.
‘It’s definitely not going too be the same without you around, with your bright and bubbly personality, your beautiful little smile.’
Days later she wrote: ‘Every day that passes, the heartache still remains! Just to be able to hold you one last time and smother you in kisses is all I want.’
Dozens of others wrote supportive comments on posts and photos of the little girl, and the local football club donated $500 to the funeral.
A GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral received $1,284 in donations since it was set up the day after Ariah’s death.
Police investigating her death raided CSS offices in Launceston (pictured) on Tuesday, the same day as the little girl’s funeral, armed with a search warrant
Tasmanian Police said detectives were investigating the death and would prepare a report for the coroner.
‘Initial investigations indicate the seven-month-old child died whilst being bathed,’ Inspector Philippa Burk said.
‘It is standard procedure in such an investigation that records are sought from a number of relevant agencies,’ it said.
‘This procedure is undertaken with the full cooperation of the agencies.’
No charges have yet been laid.