Grieving grandmother of slain children Amber and Corey Rigney-Wilson say Families SA should have intervened and removed them

EXCLUSIVE: Amber and Corey Rigney-Wilson, slain at Hillier on Monday, would have been spared had Families SA “pulled its finger out and done its job”, their grieving grandmother says.

Donna Rigney, grandmother of Amber and Corey Rigney-Wilson. Picture: Roger Wyman.

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AMBER and Corey Rigney-Wilson’s lives would have been spared had Families SA “pulled its finger out and done its job”, their grieving grandmother says.

Donna Rigney said she was shocked to learn the agency had been in regular contact with her daughter, Adeline Yvette, prior to the trio’s deaths at Hillier on Monday.

She said The Advertiser’s report, revealing social workers had conducted a welfare check just hours before the alleged triple murder, recalled the 2012 death of Chloe Valentine.

“This is the thing with Families SA — when they get involved nothing gets done, because they’re pathetic,” she said.

“This is just like what happened to Chloe Valentine ... I was so angry about how that was dealt with and, just like with Chloe, social workers should have intervened here.

“If Families SA had pulled its finger out, done its job, thought about the danger and taken Amber and Corey, they might not have been there when Yvette died.”

Chloe’s grandmother, Belinda Valentine, said Amber and Corey would not have been in danger had Families SA “made good” on coronial recommendations to change its policies.

“To have gone through an inquest about Chloe, for there to be really strong findings, only for this to happen again is just shattering, really shattering,” she said.

“We have been told, by Families SA, that the coroner’s recommendations have been followed and everything is fine now — but the very clear evidence is it’s not.

“My heart breaks for the Rigneys because I know what they are going through, and because I know that, unfortunately, our two families are not alone in our suffering.”

Adeline Yvette Rigney-Wilson and her daughter Amber, 6. Picture: Supplied by the Rigney family.

Steven Graham Peet, 30, of Evanston Gardens, has been charged the murders of Yvette, 29, who was his partner, Amber, 6, and Corey, 5.

Yvette’s eldest son Sean Jr, 7, is in his father’s custody.

Tributes continued to build yesterday at the Hiller property where Ms Rigney-Wilson, Amber and Corey were killed.

Among them were several heartbreaking messages and drawings from young school friends of Amber and Corey.

Chloe Valentine died in January 2012, aged four, after her mother and her mother’s partner repeatedly forced her to ride a 50kg motorbike around their backyard.

State Coroner Mark Johns subsequently found Families SA had repeatedly failed to remove Chloe, despite her mother’s drug use, due to flawed policy.

On Tuesday, Ms Rigney told The Advertiser her daughter used drugs, leading to their estrangement — and her regret at not taking Amber and Corey from Yvette.

Premier Jay Weatherill said he was “sick at heart” over the deaths.

However, he cautioned: “Until the full circumstances of this tragedy have become clear through the police investigation process, it is not appropriate to jump to any conclusions about how this tragic outcome may have been avoided”.

Opposition child protection spokeswoman Rachel Sanderson called on the Government to present a report on the case to MPs when Parliament resumes next week.

“The public needs to know how many child protection notifications were made, what, if any, action was taken and whether any drug assessments were conducted,” Ms Sanderson said.

“This is all information that should be readily available in Families SA’s records.

“There is no reason that these facts can’t be obtained over the next few days so that Minister Close can make a report to Parliament first thing next week.”

Ms Sanderson said Mr Weatherill was right to warn against judgment until the full circumstances became clear but said it was “critical that the facts regarding the actions of Families SA in this tragedy are understood sooner rather than later”.

Adeline Yvette Rigney-Wilson and her son Corey, 5. Picture: Supplied by the Rigney family.

Ms Rigney said she had taken custody of two other grandchildren when Families SA had “failed to act”.

“I said I was taking them for the weekend and never took them back, and it was only then that Families SA became involved ... I was disgusted,” she said.

“For 20 years, I’ve watched welfare departments fail to address Aboriginal child abuse and seen kids grow up damaged and get into crime as a result.

“I know they say they’re overloaded with cases, but they still have a job to do and have to deal with these matters.”

Ms Valentine offered her deepest sympathies to the Rigney family.

“It’s an awful feeling, knowing that you did what you could and it wasn’t enough because the authorities wouldn’t take you seriously,” she said.

“What will it take for Families SA to start listening to grandparents and other stakeholders who are right there, who see and know what is going wrong?”

Families SA declined The Advertiser’s request for comment, saying it stood by the remarks it made on Tuesday.

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