Man, woman charged with murder of five-week-old baby found at Daisy Hill caravan park
Police have refused to disclose ‘distressing’ details around the death of a five-week-old boy found unresponsive at a caravan park south of Brisbane as his mother and stepfather face court charged with murder.
Police & Courts
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The man and a woman charged with the murder in 2021 of a newborn boy in Daisy Hill, following a “complex” year-long police investigation, have been named, as police reveal grim new allegations.
It is alleged at 6.45pm on June 14, 2021 paramedics were called to a caravan park on Old Chatswood Rd, where five-week-old Michael Willmot was found unresponsive.
He was transported to Logan Hospital but was pronounced dead about 8.30pm.
Police investigations involving detectives from the Logan Child Protection and Investigation Unit, as well as the Child Trauma Task Force, Crime and Intelligence Command, resulted in the execution of a search warrant at 7am on Wednesday, where Robert Alan Gee, 44, of Stretton, was arrested.
Kristie Lee Willmot, 36, was arrested in Zillmere about the same time.
Both had their cases mentioned in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday morning having each been charged with one count of murder. Willmot is Michael’s mother, while Gee is his stepfather.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Cochrane told the court Michael was suspected to have died as a result of shaking.
“There was significant head trauma and a fractured leg, indicative of shaking,” he said.
“Mr Gee is believed to have caused those injuries. Ms Willmot was aware the injuries occurred and made a decision to not take action in relation to them.”
At a press conference at Logan Central Police Station on Thursday morning, Detective Inspector Mark White alleged Michael suffered internal injuries that were significant and too distressing to disclose.
Detective Inspector White alleged the baby boy’s injuries were internal and not accidental.
“The medical examination of the child disclosed significant internal injuries … I won’t go into any details because it’s quite distressing,” he said.
“It was quite clear at the end of that medical examination process what the cause of death was and the extent of the injuries.
“There would have been significant force used to sustain those injuries.”
Inspector White said it took more than a year to make the arrests because of the complex nature of the alleged murder.
“One of the things that we were waiting on was some clarity around the medical examination of the child,” he said.
“There are toxicology reports and also expert evidence from medical professionals who do autopsies and other aspects of it so that can take quite a while.”
Inspector White said he would call on anyone who was at the caravan park around that time to come forward if they heard or saw anything.
“Or anyone who may have information,” he said.
Inspector White said the investigation was still ongoing and that police wanted to be in a position to submit as much evidence to the court as possible.
Residents of the Daisy Hill caravan park where it is alleged baby Michael suffered fatal injuries today said they had been waiting for a year for police to swoop.
An employee of Springtime Gardens Caravan Park confirmed Gee and Willmot were living at the site at the time of the alleged murder of five-week-old Michael.
The caravan they were staying in was in the second row from the back of the park.
An elderly couple living near Gee and Willmot at the time said they had lived there for nearly 30 years and had never seen anything quite like it.
“They were really quiet and mostly kept to themselves but they didn’t look like the good sort if you know what I mean,” she said.
“I remember it happening there were police and ambulances then the next day they came and taped it up like a crime scene.
“The whole place was talking about. Disgusting.”
She said the couple moved out the day after the alleged murder.
“Didn’t hang around at all. They knew they weren’t wanted here after that,” she said.
“I still can’t believe it. Awful stuff.”
Another man who lived at the caravan park said he had had a few interactions with ‘Rob’.
“He’d lived here for over a year and at some point she came and lived with him.
“We’ve all been waiting to hear about when they’d be arrested.”
Willmot and Gee were remanded in custody and did not appear in person but were represented by duty lawyer Bettina Webb.
Prosecution ordered a brief of evidence and Magistrate Patrina Clohessy listed the matter for a committal mention on March 1, 2023 in Beenleigh Magistrates Court.
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