A man who plunged to his death while his nine-month-old daughter, Kobi, was strapped to his body with a baby carrier a known domestic violence offender.
Paramedics were called to the Whispering Wall dam in the Barossa Valley about 4.30pm to respond to a psychiatric incident.
On arrival, they found 38-year-old Henry Shepherdson and Kobi at the base of the dam below.
Witnesses had desperately tried to talk him down from the safety barrier, Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said on Thursday.
Shepherdson was already dead as members of the public performed CPR on little Kobi. Emergency services took over but she was declared dead about 15 minutes later. By 4.48pm the mission had changed to a body retrieval.
Emergency services worked on the little girl for about 15 minutes before she, too, was declared dead at the scene
Kobi (pictured) was killed after her father plunged from the Whispering Wall in South Australia
Paramedics were called to the Whispering Wall dam in the Barossa Valley about 4.30pm to respond to a psychiatric incident
Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott confirmed on Thursday the matter was being treated as a murder suicide.
Shepherdson was legally entitled to see Kobi, despite earlier suggestions she had been kidnapped.
But Mr Parrott said there was a lengthy history of domestic violence within the family and that the man was known to police.
He said he wasn’t able to disclose the nature of the domestic violence incidents or the relationship between Shepherdson and Kobi’s mother.
‘We have been involved on some domestic violence incidents in the past and there are court processes in place in relation to the family,’ Mr Parrot said.
‘It’s resulted in this absolutely tragic outcome.’
Kobi’s face will be ‘the face of domestic violence moving forward’, Mr Parrot said, urging the public to ‘remember her beautiful face’ through photos that her heartbroken mother has supplied to the police
Shepherdson was legally entitled to see Kobi, despite earlier suggestions she had been kidnapped
Kobi’s heartbroken mother shared a selection of adorable pictures of her happy baby with the hope that she will be remembered for how much joy she brought her family.
Mr Parrot said it was likely her smiley face will become ‘the face of domestic violence’ moving forward.
A formal identification process is yet to take place, and the investigation will continue.
Late on Wednesday, a chilling dispatch log uncovered by Daily Mail Australia revealed the chaotic moments that unfolded as ambulances, police crews and rescue teams raced to the tourist spot, where they found stunned tourists watching on in horror.
Mr Parrot said several witnesses had tried to stop him from jumping and talk him off the ledge.
The callout was listed as ‘psychiatric’ on an emergency services scanner; a term used for an incident involving mental illness or a suicide attempt.
A man and baby girl tragically plunged to their deaths from the ‘Whispering Wall’ dam
The man (not pictured) was already dead when emergency services found him at the bottom of the wall after 4.30pm. Paramedics tried to revive the baby but she also died at the scene
Two minutes later, a call for help was placed to teams from the Playford and Oakden ambulance stations for an ’emergency’ situation that was unfolding.
Things escalated as units arrived at the dam, with the MEDSTAR (Medical Shock Trauma/Acute Resuscitation) helicopter sent at 4.36pm.
Just minutes after that team was called, emergency services sent out its Special Operations Team – a crew of paramedics who specialise in high-risk search and rescue procedures usually involving water and cliff rescues.
One mother, who claims she was at the popular lookout with her children, took to social media to describe the horror she witnessed.
‘So painful having to see what happened with my babies,’ she said.
Local MP Stephan Knoll vowed to investigate the safety of the region if a coronial inquest found it was lacking.
‘It is a very popular tourist attraction and something that young people and kids of generations have been going to visit and not before have we heard or seen of an incident like this,’ he said.
‘But, having said that, if things need to be done to modify the structure, then that’s something we need to look at.’
He also said the incident was awful.
‘It is just heartbreaking… it does hit everybody hard… and we all do need to band together,’ Knoll told ABC Radio Adelaide.
Police said they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the deaths at this stage.
Detectives from Barossa CIB, forensic investigators and the Major Crime Branch remained on the scene on Wednesday evening looking into what caused the tragedy.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
A chilling dispatch log (above) shows how the first team of paramedics from Hamley Bridge station were sent to a suspected psychiatric incident
As more crews arrived the mission changed to a rescue mission and then body retrieval
The Whispering Wall is the retaining wall of the Barossa Reservoir, and in recent years has become a tourist attraction for carrying sound from one side to the other.
‘What draws visitors to the Whispering Wall is its unique acoustic effects: words whispered at one side can be clearly heard at the other, more than 100 metres away. Children in particular love visiting the wall and testing its abilities,’ the Barossa website says.
‘Children in particular love visiting the wall and testing its abilities.’
Built between 1899 and 1903, the dam was a revolutionary engineering feat for its day and has attracted tourists from all over the world.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
The Whispering Wall is the retaining wall of the Barossa Reservoir, and in recent years has become a tourist attraction for carrying sound from one side to the other