Sinitta Dawita who helped cover up missing daughter Kaydence Mills’ murder at Chinchilla walks free from jail on child’s birthday

A woman who helped her domestically violent partner cover up the murder of her two-year-old girl will be released from prison on what should have been the child’s 10th birthday after being acquitted of the toddler’s murder and torture.

Dawita and Kaydence.

Warning: This article contains distressing content and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article includes the name and image of a person who has died.

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A regional Queensland woman who helped her domestically violent partner cover up the murder of her two-year-old girl will be released from prison on what would be the child’s 10th birthday after being acquitted of murder and torture.

The 32-year-old woman, Sinitta Dawita, was arrested in March 2020, alongside her then partner Tane Desatge, when the remains of her two-year-old daughter, Kaydence Hazel Mills, were unearthed at the Chinchilla Weir.

The toddler was killed by Desatge in early 2017 a handful of months after the Department of Child Safety released Kaydence into the care of Dawita.

Kaydence Mills and her mother - taken a few months before her death. Picture: File / Supplied

Soon after the North Queensland family relocated from Tully to Chinchilla, where Kaydence was neglected, ostracised, and beaten by Desatge.

The court was told the 44-year-old man beat and starved the little girl, who he did not like, because of resentment he held for the child’s biological father.

Forensic evidence showed Kaydence likely died from a significant blow to the back of her head.

After spending almost four years in custody, Dawita will be released from custody on Kaydence’s 10th birthday, Monday, September 23, 2024.

On Tuesday, September 17, Dawita was acquitted of murder and torture following a trial at the Toowoomba Supreme Court in late July and early August.

When Dawita’s verdict was read she broke down in tears and covered her face with her hands.

She was sentenced to 18 years in jail for moving her child’s body, and with 1661 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served she is now in the community on parole.

Justice Sean Cooper wrote in his findings the Crown case did not satisfy him beyond reasonable doubt “that Ms Dawita caused Kaydence’s death, whether in combination with Mr Desatge or alone”.

“There is no direct evidence that Ms Dawita saw Kaydence when she was alive but not breathing properly,” the findings state.

“I am not satisfied that Ms Dawita… caused Kaydence’s death by failing to obtain medical care when the need for such care was apparent is the only rational inference that the circumstances enable me to draw.

“I am not satisfied… beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Dawita intended, by her continued presence in the Chinchilla house, to aid Mr Desatge in his intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering on Kaydence.”

Kaydence Mills' mother Sinitta Dawita, and her then-boyfriend Tane Desatge, who both pleaded not guilty to torturing and murdering the girl in July 2024.

In sentencing, Justice Cooper said the Tully woman helped Desatge bury Kaydence under the guise of a camping trip, and helped him cover up the death by telling a number of lies.

He noted there were probable reasons leading to Dawita’s silence, lies, and concealment.

“First, a fear of what Mr Desatge might have done if you revealed what had happened to Kaydence,” he said.

“Secondly, fear that child safety officers would remove the other children from your care.

“And thirdly shame, that you had not taken sufficient steps to protect Kaydence from (his) mistreatment while she was at the Chinchilla house or to send (her) away to a safer environment.”

Investigators cordoned off the little girl's in Chinchilla for a number of days in late 2019, a few months after Kaydence was reported missing. Pictures: Peta McEachern

Justice Cooper found Desatge was responsible for the “horrific” killing of Kaydence and she “endured severe pain and suffering before she died”.

He said the only logical reason for her death was the blows Desatge caused to her face and head with the bamboo stick, which were evident in the extensive bruising to her face that included straight-lined contusions.

Desatge was sentenced to life, 22 years, and will be eligible to apply for parole in March 2042.

If released, he will remain on parole for the rest of his life.

Originally published as Sinitta Dawita who helped cover up missing daughter Kaydence Mills’ murder at Chinchilla walks free from jail on child’s birthday