Matthew Scown pleads guilty to manslaughter over Tyrell Cobb death

UPDATE: A MAN charged over the death of his ex-partner’s four-year-old boy will be released from jail today after being sentenced to four years for manslaughter.

Matthew Scown has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Tyrell Cobb, who died in 2009. Picture: Channel 7

A MAN charged over the death of his ex-partner’s four-year-old boy will be released from jail today after being sentenced to four years for manslaughter.

Tyrell Cobb’s mother, Heidi Strbak, has been charged with the little boy’s manslaughter. Picture: Jodie Richter

Justice Martin Burns said Matthew Scown was “criminally negligent” in relation to Tyrell Cobb’s death because he failed to get medical treatment for the child.

Tyrell died on May 24, 2009 from a blunt-force trauma injury and an autopsy showed he had 70 injuries - including 53 bruises and 17 abrasions.

Justice Burns said Scown should have acted regardless of the wishes of the child’s mother, who had left Tyrell with him for about 40 minutes while she went out for cigarettes.

“The horror of all of this is that the injuries Tyrell sustained were treatable and that he would have survived if he received treatment when he first became symptomatic,” he said.

“Mr Scown, I do not know how someone can hope to come to grips with what you failed to do, but I do know that you will require help in an attempt to do so.”

Justice Burns said there was no evidence Scown knew or even suspected about the injuries being inflicted on Tyrell that caused his death.

The court was also told Scown had asked the child’s biological father to urge the mother to seek medical help for him about two weeks earlier.

A distressed Scown called Triple 0 and attempted mouth-to-mouth after finding Tyrell unresponsive.

Scown’ sentence was suspended today, taking into account he has already served almost 1000 days in custody and cooperated with police.