Police says scene of Willow Dunn’s death will haunt them for a long time

The horrific discovery of Willow Dunn’s severely malnourished body will haunt usually resilient first responders for many years, a top detective has revealed.

The agonising and barbaric scene of a disabled toddler left to die from malnourishment will haunt first responders for the rest of their lives, police say.

When emergency services arrived at Willow Dunn’s Cannon Hill home on Monday the four-year-old was long dead.

Left without care or food the little girl who had Down syndrome was found in her cot decomposed.

The homicide unit’s acting Detective Inspector Chris Knight said first responders had been left shaken by what they found.

Acting Detective Inspector Chris Knight has revealed how horrific the scene was for first responders. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

“The scene that confronted the Queensland Ambulance Service and the first responding police officers on Monday morning was extremely confronting to say the least,” he said.

“In my experience ambulance officers and police officers generally speaking, are fairly resilient people. But I can assure you that in my experience and my contact with the individuals involved they were confronted with a scene that will stay with them for many years.

Willow Dunn sticks her tongue out at the camera while playing.

“Like any child that loses their life in an untimely way it’s confronting to everybody and I think every parent can’t help draw comparisons, and we’re no different to anybody else.

“It’s a shocking set of circumstances, which is why we’re going to go to great lengths to examine the care and the treatment that she was provided with for the duration of the last four years.”

Det Insp Knight said steps were being taken to support police and other emergency services who attended the crime scene, which remains under police guard.