10 month-old Chloe Murphy was left in the care of a babysitter for just two hours while her parents went out. When they returned home from the movies their daughter was floppy and unresponsive, and two days later after the baby girl died from horrific injuries.
Her babysitter, Ketapat Jenkins, was charged with child homicide, but in 2014 a jury found her innocent reports Daily Mail.
Chloe died in December 2010 from injuries consistent with being shaken and thrown at a wall or floor, and the little girl had head injuries “normally only seen after a car accident” a court heard at an inquest into the death on Monday.
Chloe had a fractured skull and three fractures to her left arm.
The court heard that the child was in good health when her parents Anthony and Phurithee Murphy dropped her to Ms Jenkins home, but when they returned she was limp and in respiratory distress and they rushed her to The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne where she later died.
A panel of nine medical experts testified at the inquest that Chloe’s injuries were likely to have been caused by three separate actions; forcibly twisting Chloe’s arm, shaking her and a head impact. A fall is unlikely to have caused such injuries.
Chloe’s parents were shocked when the court read out the “not guilty” verdict in 2014.
The inquest continues.