Mother to testify at inquest; father convicted of thrwoing 4-year-old daughter off bridge duing his access time (Melbourne, Australia)

ARTHUR FREEMAN is one of Australia's most notorious child killers. He is an idol for the fascist-leaning fathers rights groups in Australia, which should tell you everything you need to know about their movement.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/local/melbourne/2015/02/05/mother-to-testify-at-freeman-inquest.html

Mother to testify at Freeman inquest

Published: 5:53 pm, Thursday, 5 February 2015

The mother of the little girl thrown from Melbourne's West Gate Bridge six years ago will give evidence to an inquest into the death.

Peta Barnes will ask the Victorian state coroner to examine the role of lawyers in family violence matters and triple-zero call procedures during a two-day coronial hearing in July.

Four-year-old Darcey Freeman died in January 2009 after her father, Arthur Phillip Freeman, threw her from the 58-metre bridge on what was to be her first day of school.

The day before, the Family Court had made final orders in a lengthy custody battle between Ms Barnes and Freeman.

On the morning of Thursday, January 29, Freeman collected his three children from his parents' house but failed to take them to school.

When Ms Barnes called him, he said, 'Say goodbye to your children.

'During a later call he told Ms Barnes, 'You'll never see them again.'

Several witnesses who saw Freeman throw his daughter from the bridge that morning called triple-zero.

Darcey was found unresponsive in the water and later died in hospital.

The inquest will examine the Family Court and how lawyers and GPs respond to family violence incidents.

State coroner Ian Gray will consider whether GPs have a thorough understanding of mandatory child abuse reporting requirements and whether there is co-operation between doctors and the Department of Human Services.

After Darcey died, Ms Barnes successfully sued VicRoads for failing to install safety barriers on the bridge.

She also raised concerns about the practices of the Family Court.

Counsel assisting the inquest Sergeant Sharon Wade said the Family Court had improved its operations since 2009, but added there was scope for the inquest to examine whether more could be done.

Mr Gray heard lawyers were not subject to mandatory child abuse reporting laws.

He will examine the training they receive as part of the inquest.

Freeman is serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 32 years for murdering Darcey.

AAP