A Queensland mother accused of killing her two daughters by leaving them locked in a parked car in soaring temperatures has wept as she was committed to stand trial for their murders.
Toddlers Darcey-Helen, two, and Chloe-Ann, one, were found dead in a black station wagon parked in the front yard of their Logan home, south of Brisbane, in November 2019.
Their mother, Kerri-Ann Conley, has been charged with two counts of murder under a new definition in Queensland which includes reckless indifference to human life. She is the first person to be charged under the expanded definition which came into law in March 2019.
A barefooted Conley struggled to hold back tears as she faced a committal hearing in Beenleigh magistrates court on Tuesday.
Kerri-Ann Conley has been charged with murdering her two daughters who died from exposure to extreme heat inside a car in 2019. Photograph: SUPPLIED/PR IMAGE
Police allege Conley put her two young daughters in the car about 6.30am before going back inside her home that day.
The girls allegedly remained in the station wagon as temperatures soared to 31C. They were not discovered until after 1pm some seven hours later.
A panicked Conley reportedly put her daughters in a cold bath as paramedics were called but they could not be revived.
The girls were declared dead at the scene showing signs of being exposed to extreme heat.
Darcey-Helens father, Peter Jackson, gave evidence at Tuesdays hearing that both girls were scheduled to visit the weekend they died.
He tried to phone some 18 times and sent repeated text messages to ask where they were but could not raise Conley on the morning of the tragedy, the court heard.
She finally returned his calls just before 1.30pm about the same time paramedics had been called.
Police prosecutor Tim Wise said police had collected more than 140 statements to be tendered as evidence.
The magistrate, Michael ODriscoll, ordered Conley to stand trial as the tearful accused declined to enter a plea. She blew a kiss to a supporter in the public gallery as she was returned to custody.
