Crystal Nowland, Shane Wanganeen, Jenni Wilmott charged with manslaughter over separate deaths of children Charlie, Makai and Jasmine

Police say task force investigations led to three arrests this morning over the deaths of three innocent children – Jasmine Wilmott, Makai Wanganeen and Charlie Nowland.

Police have arrested and charged three people with manslaughter in connection with several high-profile alleged child neglect cases.

The arrests are in connection with the deaths last year of Charlie Nowland, 6, and Makai Wanganeen, 7, and Jasmine Wilmott, 15, who died in 2018.

The charges arise from three separate deaths. None of the three accused or victims are connected.

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Major Crime and Public Protection Branch detectives swooped on addresses at Munno Para, Craigmore and Flagstaff Hill this morning and detained the three individuals.

At Munno Para, detectives arrested Charlie Nowland’s mother, Crystal, 47, and charged her with one count of manslaughter and four counts of criminal neglect in connection with the alleged mistreatment of her other children aged between 8 and 14 years.

At Craigmore, detectives arrested Makai Wanganeen’s father, Shane Wanganeen, 50, and charged him with one count of manslaughter.

At Flagstaff Hill, detectives arrested carer Jenni Wilmott, 54, and charged her with one count of manslaughter in connection with the death of Jasmine Wilmott, who took her own life.

Jasmine Willmott. Picture: 9 News.

Detectives have charged Makai’s father, Shane Wanganeen, with manslaughter.

The arrests came after more than six months of investigations by a task force set up to investigate the deaths of Charlie Nowland and Makai Wanganeen – and a top-level inquiry into them ordered by the state government.

Assistant Commissioner (Crime) John Venditto said three arrests for the same offence in three individual cases at the same time was “unprecedented”.

“The death of these children is a matter of public interest, it was a matter of public interest at the time and it will continue to be,’’ he said.

“The three cases are not linked in any way, the facts and circumstances that give rise to a charge of manslaughter are different in each case.

“What is the same though is that the adult charged with manslaughter owed a duty of care to the child at the time.’’

Crystal Nowland, Shane Wanganeen and Jenni Wilmott have each been arrested and charged with manslaughter.

He said advice had been sought from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions throughout the investigations and “their advice had been considered against the evidence.’’

“The investigations have been thorough, they have examined volumes of material and have done so carefully,’’ he said.

“They have examined physical evidence, financial evidence, forensic evidence and expert evidence.’’

Mr Venditto said investigations were “not finished yet” and officers would continue to gather evidence for the DPP ahead of prosecutions.

“The arrests are a milestone in these particular matters, but they’re not the end by any means,” he said.

“It’s essential for everyone to remember that (every day) until the judge delivers a verdict, the three accused retain a presumption of innocence.”

“I make the plea that, now that people have been charged, other people might find that it is the time or moment to come forward.

“If you have any information about these deaths, please contact Crime Stoppers – you can remain anonymous.”

Mr Venditto said no further arrests were expected over the children’s deaths at this stage.

Charlie Nowland was six when she died.

Charlie‘s mum was arrested and charged with manslaughter this morning.

Ms Wilmott was in late 2020 charged with the criminal neglect and assault of the girl between 2015 and 2018, but the charges were later dropped.

Mr Venditto said a manslaughter charge was laid in connection with the death of Jasmine Wilmott after fresh investigations by Task Force Veritas officers.

“Owing to new evidence we have been able to lay a new charge of manslaughter,’’ he said.

Charlie Nowland died from malnutrition in July last year after being found unresponsive at her home – with subsequent revelations child welfare officers were dealing with the family at the time of her death.

Seven-year-old Makai Wanganeen passed away last February, three days after complaining of stomach pain and being taken to hospital.

Makai was living with his dad at the time of his death and had been in his care since November 2020.

Makai died on February 10 after earlier being taken to Lyell McEwin Hospital then transferred the Women’s and Children’s Hospital with severe stomach pains.

Last year, Major Crime officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said that while Makai’s death was unusual, suspicions had not initially been aroused because a post-mortem had identified several serious health issues.

“Soon after, investigators began reviewing volumes of material and obtained an opinion from a paediatric expert,” he said.

“They formed the view that sufficient grounds existed to commence a criminal investigation of criminal neglect causing death.

“There is neglect and abuse which we believe has occurred over a period of time but it doesn’t have all the same characteristics of Charlie’s.”

In a Facebook post before Makai’s funeral in February, Mr Wanganeen spoke of losing his son.

“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to show my appreciation to all that have helped and support me throughout this tragic event,’’ he wrote.

“Words can’t really express how much (I) feel and what I really want to say to you all.”

At the time neighbours described Makai as “such a happy, cheerful little guy”.

Ms Wilmott’s lawyer Craig Caldicott confirmed she had been arrested this morning and would likely face court later today.

When Ms Wilmott was before the court on the previous charges – and prior to them being dropped by prosecutors – Mr Caldicott said his client would be pleading not guilty and had been “absolutely shocked” when police pressed the charges earlier this year.

“The death was over two years ago and suddenly in October, November this year they lay charges, it’s been a complete shock to her,” Mr Caldicott said.

Rubbish, shopping trolleys and squalor in the overgrown backyard home of 7-year-old Makai, who died in February last year. Picture: Mark Brake

“She was living with them and she was clearly having some issues at school and it’s against that backdrop that she unfortunately took her life.”

Court documents showed the alleged neglect occurred between January 2015 and October 2018 and two alleged assaults occurred at Flagstaff Hill in May and June 2018.

“(Ms Wilmott) was or ought to have been aware that there was an appreciable risk that harm would be caused to the victim … (she) failed to take steps that she could be reasonably have been expected to take in the circumstances to protect that victim,” the documents said.

A police prosecutor told the court the case against Ms Wilmott was complex and had “in excess of 150 witnesses”.

In the wake of the police taskforce being formed to investigate the deaths of Charlie and Makai, the state government commissioned former police commissioner Mal Hyde to examine the circumstances surrounding the two specific cases.

It also commissioned child protection expert Kate Alexander to assess the status of all previous coronial and other recommendations relating to child protection dating back almost a decade.

The state government subsequently accepted in principle all 31 recommendations outlined in the Hyde report, and the majority of those in the Alexander report.

While the Alexander report was released in full, based on legal advice from Crown, advice from SAPOL and advice from Mr Hyde himself, the government opted not to publicly release Mr Hyde’s report so as to not risk jeopardising the ongoing criminal investigations into both cases.

Once all other legal processes related to these two cases are complete, the government committed to releasing the Hyde report.

After examining the reports and their recommendations, the state government committed to the following immediate actions:

■ The Hyde Review conducted a high level screening exercise to identify other children that are in particularly high-risk settings. Approximately 500 children were identified. SAPOL will co-ordinate a multi-agency effort to check those children’s welfare as quickly as possible.

■ Establishing a South Australian Child Protection Expert Group, as recommended in the Alexander report. The expert group’s first task is ensuring the prioritisation of cases and an understanding of child neglect, as identified in the Hyde report.

■ Forming a Chief Executive Oversight Committee, led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, to ensure all of these actions, and the broader recommendations contained in the reports are co-ordinated and integrated across government.