Hot car death: Rylee Rose Black just metres from mother, partner
As a three-year-old girl lay dying in a hot car in Townsville, her mother and her new partner were just metres away inside a house.
Police & Courts
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A mother and her new boyfriend are believed to have been inside a house just metres away from a three-year-old girl dying inside a hot car in Townsville on Friday.
Laura Black, 37, also known as Laura Peverill, dropped her three older children to school on Friday morning before allegedly leaving her youngest daughter, Rylee Rose, in the back seat.
It is alleged the little girl was forgotten and left alone in the hot car as the mercury soared to over 31C outside for several hours.
It is believed Black allegedly did not discover Rylee’s lifeless body in the 4WD until she went to pick up the older children.
The tight-knit community of Burdell is reeling and demanding answers after the tragedy.
Black and her boyfriend, Aaron Hill, 29, have been jointly charged with manslaughter and will remain behind bars for at least two weeks while legal aid representation is secured.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Police on Friday ruled out drugs and alcohol as factors, but yesterday remained tight-lipped about exactly how the fateful day played out.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles said it was a preventable tragedy and that the charge of manslaughter “indicates that there has been negligence on the part of the people responsible for the child’s health and wellbeing”.
“The next part of our investigation will be to further identify exactly the movements of all the parties involved,” he said.
Rylee was the youngest of four daughters Black had with former partner Pete Black.
Ms Black and Hill made their relationship official in September and often spent time together with Rylee, her three older sisters and Hill’s two daughters, from his own previous marriage.
A picture on Ms Black’s Facebook shows her girls next to a Christmas tree, the younger three in matching dresses.
But that picture of innocence was shattered on Friday, with police alleging Black and Hill forgot Rylee in a shocking case of “forgotten child syndrome”.
Many people took to social media to pay tribute to the young girl, taken too soon.
“RIP Rylee Rose, condolences to the father and family and friends. You didn’t deserve this,” one Townsville woman wrote online.
“Fly high princess Rylee, you will be sadly missed by many. Thinking of your big sisters and daddy in this hard time,” another said.
Others, locals in the community, expressed anger and disbelief, demanding to know how the tragedy occurred.
Ms Black’s Facebook profile says she attended James Cook University, while Hill has worked as a driller for a mine in Mount Isa.
Hill is an avid pig hunter and motorcyclist, with one friend commenting on images of him and his daughter calling him a “great dad”.
He is no stranger to tragedy, posting on his Facebook page in 2018 about his own father’s tragic death. Hill posted a photo of a plaque for his father which read, “Hero father, gave his life to save his son”.
Black and Hill’s cases were in the Townsville Magistrates Court yesterday.
Hill appeared in the dock in normal clothes and looked sleep-deprived. The case was adjourned until December 14.
Black did not appear in court and her case was adjourned to the same date.
Lyndell O’Connor, acting for Black said yesterday she had been instructed not to talk about the case.
The Black family – including Pete and his new partner – have asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of their loved one.
“It’s hard enough grieving alone, without it being publicised everywhere,” a loved one told The Sunday Mail.
Black and Hill arrived at the Townsville University Hospital at about 2.45pm with an unresponsive Rylee and a nurse alerted authorities.
Multiple police swarmed the hospital, with detectives interviewing Black and Hill for several hours before charges were laid around 10pm.
The siblings are now in the care of their father.
The horrific case has drawn parallels with another case of forgotten child syndrome in Victoria in 2012, when a Bendigo mother was acquitted after a medical expert found she was not thinking straight.
US neuroscientist Professor David Diamond – who has given evidence in Australian courts on the subject – said the syndrome occurred when parents repeated a routine several times, sending their brains into “autopilot”.
Those convicted of manslaughter in Queensland face a maximum penalty of life in prison, which is 20 years.
However, unlike murder, which is a mandatory 20-year sentence, judges have discretion about what length sentence they impose.
Townsville police and forensic officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the death.
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