Custodial dad commits suicide after bashing toddler into coma (Minyip, Victoria, Australia)

UPDATE 7/14/09: Now we find out that the father and mother separated earlier this year. Still haven't seen a word as to how this father got custody. The mother is allegedly at the comotose girl's bedside--guess Dad can't keep her from being there since he killed himself. And there was also a little boy in the father's home. Stay tuned on this one.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-warned-of-threat-to-injured-childs-safety-20090713-disz.html

UNNAMED DAD bashed his 2-year-old daughter into a coma, then took the coward's way out and committed suicide. Dad had been arrested the week before for beating the girl, and despite evidence that Dad had abused her, she was not removed from his custody. Unnamed dad appears to be a custodial father--NO mention of a mother in the picture at all.

Article also mentions towards the end that stepfather PAUL AITON bashed his stepson to death in 1990, despite the fact that 21 professionals had had contact with the abused little boy, Nobody intervened.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25771759-948,00.html

Victorian toddler in coma after being bashed, dad dead

July 13, 2009 03:34pm

UPDATE: VICTORIA'S Child Safety Commissioner will investigate what went wrong in a situation that left a man dead and his two-year-old daughter fighting for her life.

Commissioner Bernie Geary said the girl first came to the attention of the Department of Human Services (DHS) over family violence issues in February.

Mr Geary told reporters on Monday he will be involved in a DHS inquiry into the case which has been ordered by the state government.

Questions are being asked why police and welfare workers left the girl with her father after it was believed he had bashed her, before he allegedly assaulted her again within a week.

He was found dead on Monday near his home in Minyip in Victoria's far west.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances about his death.

He was arrested last week and charged with intentionally causing serious injury and recklessly causing serious injury to his daughter.

``These are the situations that we will be reviewing - the processes and consequences,'' he said.

``Frankly, these are decisions child protection workers are faced with every day.'' Mr Geary said the system let the child down.

Earlier today

A MAN accused of inflicting serious injuries on his two-year-old daughter has been found dead near his home in Victoria's far west.

The 26-year-old man's body was found in Minyip, and police spokeswoman Constable Angela Avery said there were no suspicious circumstances about his death.

The man was arrested last week and charged with intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury to his daughter.

A police spokeswoman said the man was granted police bail and was set to appear in the Stawell Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

The toddler is on life support after being bashed, days after welfare officers were told of an earlier attack on the girl.

A top-level inquiry has been ordered in Victoria into what steps were taken to protect the child, who has been in a coma since last week. Concerns were raised about the two-year-old girl when she arrived at child care with what appeared to be black eyes.

The Herald Sun believes childcare staff notified the Department of Human Services, but police were not called in at the time.

About a week later, last Tuesday, the girl suffered severe head injuries.

She was taken by emergency air ambulance to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, where she remains in an induced coma.

The Kennett government introduced laws in 1993 making it mandatory to report child abuse after two-year-old Daniel Valerio was bashed to death.

The latest tragic victim of child abuse was in such a grave condition in hospital the homicide squad was notified.

Detectives and forensic experts have visited the home where it is believed the girl was attacked.

Community Services Minister Lisa Neville has been briefed on the case.

"The minister has ordered a full review . . . to ensure that all appropriate steps were taken," Department of Human Services spokesman Paul Heinrichs said. "This is a very serious case and our thoughts are with the child who is in hospital."

Mr Heinrichs said specific questions from the Herald Sun about the circumstances of the case could not be answered because of the police investigation.

Professor Chris Goddard, the director of child abuse prevention research at Monash University, said Victoria needed an independent review of all child assault deaths and serious injuries cases.

"We need to review cases where children have been injured to see if we could have intervened earlier," he said.

The child protection system came in for a major shake-up after the tragic death of Daniel Valerio in September 1990.

It was estimated that in the months before he died, 21 professional people had contact with the sad and broken little boy.

Three years later his stepfather, Paul Aiton, then 32, was sentenced to a minimum 18 years' jail.

The judge said there had been a lamentable failure of people in the system to take action when they saw the injuries the boy had suffered in the lead-up to his death.

"Daniel would be alive today if there had been mandatory reporting," his father said outside the court.

- with AAP