A baby died at the age of five months after being neglected and "severely shaken by an adult", a Perth court has heard.
Key points:
- The baby was born premature in late December 2018
- She died in May 2019 after suffering brain injuries, retinal haemorrhages and fractures
- Her parents denied hurting her and have not been charged
WARNING: This article contains details that readers may find distressing.
Western Australia's deputy coroner Sarah Linton is holding an inquest into the brief life, and death, of the baby girl in 2019.
Nobody has been charged over the death of the child, who can't be identified for legal reasons.
The girl was in the care of the Department of Communities in the days before she died, but concerns had been raised since her premature birth at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH).
Counsel assisting Will Stops told the court the mother had attempted to terminate the pregnancy at 23 weeks, and the baby was born soon afterwards, in late December 2018.
She was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at KEMH but "her parents did not visit her regularly or engage with her in any meaningful way," Mr Stops said.
Concerns baby abandoned
There were unsuccessful efforts to get them to visit and in early February, when the child was about six weeks old, a senior social worker contacted the Department of Communities to express concerns the baby had been abandoned.
Mr Stops said the father had explained there were "extenuating circumstances" and the mother said she had to drive her husband to and from work as he had lost his licence.
Another reason for not attending the hospital was that she had to care for her toddler.
Mr Stops told the court the Department of Communities conducted a home visit and "found the house was unsafe and in a state of disrepair".
Arrangements were made for the parents to spend more time with their baby to build attachment, but visits soon dropped off.
A hospital social worker expressed concern the mother may be a domestic violence victim but she denied it, and the Department of Communities did not consider it to be substantiated.
The baby was discharged from hospital in April.
Home 'unsafe' for children
Mr Stops described further home visits by a child health nurse and the department, and it was noted lighting was not working, while the baby was not gaining weight and had a facial bruise.
The mother told the department she had "limited access to money and was scared of the father when he got angry", but said he had not physically harmed her or the four children.
Mr Stops described a home visit in May when there was "no working water", live wires hanging from the ceiling, smoke damage to the walls and rotting food in the fridge.
"It was, in short, unsafe and unliveable for children," he told the court.
The toilets were filled with faeces and there were buckets of water for bathing.
Despite the father's reluctance, the family was moved to a safe house.
Baby suffered 'severe, non-accidental injuries'
A few days later, the baby was taken to hospital suffering seizures and she was soon transferred to Perth Children's Hospital.
She had suffered "severe, non-accidental injuries," Mr Stops told the court.
The Department of Communities took the baby and her siblings into care but the infant was declared deceased on May 26, 2019, having suffered brain injuries, retinal haemorrhages and fractures.
Mr Stops told the court expert medical opinion suggested the injuries were inflicted "on more than one occasion" and the baby had been "severely shaken by an adult".
The parents denied hurting the child but could not provide an explanation for the injuries to police, who released them without charge.
Ms Linton will consider the care and supervision provided by the Department of Communities.
One of the issues is whether the department should have started pre-birth planning after they became aware of the attempted termination.
Another issue is whether the department failed to take appropriate action after the facial bruise was discovered.
'Devastating': Social worker
The first witness was KEMH senior social worker Roslyn McAullay, who said she felt the father was exerting control over the mother.
"We were desperate to get eyes on these parents," she told the court.
Ms McAullay explained mothers usually did not want to leave their baby, but this one did not want to go to the hospital "at all".
She said there was a need to have the mother connect with the child, feed and bathe her.
"We wanted to help them, wanted them to step up and do this," she said.
But Ms McAullay told the court the father was committed to his work, while the mother was taking two other kids to school and caring for a toddler.
She felt hostility from the father and became aware the mother was told she could not have friends at home, or go to the hairdresser.
She told the court she asked the mother if he had hit her and she said he had not.
Ms McAullay described the death of the infant as "devastating".
Tom Percy KC, acting for the father, asked child protection worker Anita Vugts to rate the standard of the home on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst.
Ms Vugts said it would've rated "five or six", telling the court department staff saw such conditions "quite often" in the cases they dealt with.