GUILTY Australia - Spencer Oatley, 5, dies in squalid Melbourne home, 1 Aug 2012

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Amee

Amee

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OMG!! Another case :furious:

AN alcoholic mum whose son died trapped in rubbish in their putrid home developed an elaborate ruse to fool her working husband into believing he was attending school.

In the end the youngest, just five years old, cut his toe and died three days later in 2012.

A cause of death has never been identified, but doctors say it almost certainly was caused by living amongst the rubbish.

Detective Mark Gurthie, who investigated the matter, said in 26 years of policing he’d never seen anything like it.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...s-were-at-school/story-e6freon6-1227106116004

The boy's mother died in hospital two weeks ago.

During a plea hearing today, the man's lawyer said her client was pulled into a downward spiral by his wife, who had depression and was an alcoholic.

When they were living in squalor, the father was able to maintain his job, on a $160,000 salary.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-...-squalid-home-was-afraid-to-seek-help/5851338
 
Boy, 5, died in squalor, court told

March 20, 2014

A five-year-old boy died days after cutting his foot on rubbish in his family's filth-ridden Melbourne home after his parents failed to take him to a doctor, according to court documents.

The boy received a three-centimetre cut to his big toe when he stepped on an open can of cat food that had been discarded in the house and was piled among junk, food scraps and faeces that filled every room of the house, in Melbourne's north-western suburbs, the documents say

The five-year-old's death, and the state of the house in which he lived, has shocked police and court officials and prompted investigations into how his parents could allow them to live in what one police officer called a ''state of extreme squalor''

According to court documents, the boy who died was born at home, was never immunised or enrolled in school or kindergarten and only really had contact with his immediate family members. Neighbours told police the boy was quiet and withdrawn, had poor speech and always appeared dressed in clothing that was inappropriate for the weather.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/boy-5-died-in-squalor-court-told-20140319-352yb.html#ixzz3HWnx3HbO
 
The older brother describing his younger brother's last moments, he cried and called for help. :cry: His little brother is gone and he is left to carry on with these shocking memories and a rotten, rotten childhood behind him.
He's 8 now, I hope he heals fully and has all the happiness in the world.
 
The dad seems to able to function normally, keeping his high paying job!!! I think his excuses of not helping because he didn't want to lose his wife and kids pretty much backfired cause now two are dead! My younger sister suffers many mental issues including bipolar and has a tendency to self medicate. I love her more than anything and that saying you sometimes need to be cruel to be kind is in my head constantly. I know she will get mad at me, not talk to me for a few days or be completely irresponsible when I confront her or don't agree but in the end it's helping her. This trying to hide mental illness needs to stop! Won't you be more socially unaccepted for allowing this kind of thing to happen than try and hide it??? That poor boy had no help, no chance. It breaks my heart.


MOO!!
 
Letter from boy's parents

March 20, 2014

This is a letter sent to neighbours one month before the five-year-old boy died in 2012, after police received a report that he'd been seen in the street naked and covered in faeces. Names have been removed.

Neighbours,

Firstly, we apologise for the noise that happened early this morning.

Secondly, we appreciate and understand that you have a concern for children which is commendable.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/letter-from-boys-parents-20140320-3558q.html#ixzz3HXIleYxP
 
Young children 'bounce, not break', said mother of boy, 5, who died in squalor

March 20, 2014

The neglect of a young boy was reported to authorities several times before he died, aged five, after cutting his toe on rubbish in his family's filthy Melbourne home, according to court documents.

Both the police and child-protection workers were notified at least twice each during the child's short life, but either did not follow up the report or went away after knocking on the family's front door and receiving no response

A woman who lived next door to the family reported concerns for the boy to the Department of Human Services in April 2009, three years before he died, after she found the then two-year-old naked and covered in faeces, documents tendered to Melbourne Magistrates Court show

But the department's child-protection service did not take any action because an ''immediacy of risk had not been established'', one DHS worker said in a statement to police. Witness statements reveal another neighbour said someone they believed to be a DHS worker visited the family's home, up to two years before the boy died, and yelled: ''You're not fit to be parents, I'm going to do everything I can to take the kids away.''

Court documents also show police visited at least twice before the boy died.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/y...-in-squalor-20140320-354e8.html#ixzz3HXJhlM4y
 
The court had been told toxicology reports have been unable to determine how the boy died. His mother had rushed him to an ambulance branch office after finding him lifeless in his room, but paramedics were unable to revive him. Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service staff said in statements that tetanus could have been a cause, botulism could not be excluded and food poisoning was possible. Other statements say E.coli was detected on the boy's toe, under a dirty bandage.

The woman who lived next door told investigators that on the day she found the then two-year-old boy hurt, she told the mother she would call the police.

The woman said the mother, speaking through a gap in her front door, said her son did not need to see a doctor, as children that age ''don't get hurt, rather they 'bounce, not break', and that he would be OK''.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/y...-in-squalor-20140320-354e8.html#ixzz3HXKTjTI7
 
The husband can blame his wife's depression all he wants --- NObody who was healthy of mind could live like THIS and allow their kids to grow up feral in THIS can negate full responsibility. Just... no. :notgood:

I wonder what the mother died of.

5638272-3x2-940x627.jpg
 
marlywings said:
Letter from boy's parents

March 20, 2014

This is a letter sent to neighbours one month before the five-year-old boy died in 2012, after police received a report that he'd been seen in the street naked and covered in faeces. Names have been removed.

Neighbours,

Firstly, we apologise for the noise that happened early this morning.

Secondly, we appreciate and understand that you have a concern for children which is commendable.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/letter-from-boys-parents-20140320-3558q.html#ixzz3HXIleYxP
Click to expand...

OMG!!! What lying lowlifes!!! Who wrote the letter I wonder, the mother or the father? It must be the father, I think! What an evil man!!! He deserves to go to prison!! His son wasn't even registered, how does he explain that??!!
Reading those well thought out words, excuses, absolutely shocking!!
 
The dad earned a lot of money, so if he'd cared about the children he could easily have hired a cleaner and someone to help look after the children, since he knew his wife was not coping and he knew the conditions they lived in were unacceptable. Sounds like he just didn't care about the welfare of the children
 
Rayemonde said:
The dad earned a lot of money, so if he'd cared about the children he could easily have hired a cleaner and someone to help look after the children, since he knew his wife was not coping and he knew the conditions they lived in were unacceptable. Sounds like he just didn't care about the welfare of the children
Click to expand...

I agree, he could well afford a cleaner a few times a week.
 
another child falls through the cracks
still i cannot understand the father's actions, did he live in the house, where did he kept his clothing, wash, etc?
he had a high paying job, he could have removed the children and seek mental health help for his wife
 
I believe anyone content to live like that and watch his kids suffer horribly like that is in dire need of mental help himself.

And here am I feeling terrible for letting the housework slip this week, due to illness. At least I can see my floors.

...mostly :hiding:
 
Feature article from February:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/t...killed-a-fiveyearold-boy-20150203-134q5b.html

The Oatleys' front door stayed mostly shut. Seth left for work each day and returned home, and the boys and their mother went out when they needed to. But otherwise, the front door kept the stench inside, kept the family's secret hidden and kept the rest of the world out.

It stayed that way for years, from when Joanne's problems became so bad no one could know what was behind that door and the drawn curtains, to August 1, 2012, when she found her youngest son, Spencer, lifeless on his bedroom floor...

Two years after Spencer's death, Joanne died from organ failure, related to alcoholism, having pleaded guilty to criminal charges over the risks she exposed her sons to. Seth also pleaded guilty and was last year sentenced to a three-year jail term, wholly suspended. He is now a broken man who lives alone in the same house. He does not work and is unlikely to again see his other son, J, now 10, who lives with guardians.
Click to expand...
 
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