Court hears mum told police of threats to kill before death
A pregnant mother who died when she was allegedly flung from a car her partner was driving, was on the phone to police at the time claiming her partner was threatening to kill her, a court has heard.
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A pregnant mother who died when she was allegedly flung from a car her partner was driving told police he was threatening to kill her moments before her death, a court has heard.
William Wilson sobbed loudly and cried for his mum as he appeared in court charged with dangerous driving causing Helena Broadbent’s death.
Ms Broadbent was 26 weeks pregnant with her third child when she fell from the back seat of the ute Mr Wilson was driving.
Police allege the couple had argued over dirty nappies in their Keilor Downs home before Ms Broadbent called triple-0, telling police Mr Wilson had a hammer and was threatening to kill her.
The mother of three was trying to remove her kids’ car seats from Mr Wilson’s car when he began to drive away.
She was still on the phone to police when he turned “rapidly” and she fell backwards out of the car, fatally striking her head on the ground, the court heard.
“There is a scream then silence,” Detective Sergeant Darryl Out told the Melbourne magistrates’ Court.
Sergeant Out said Mr Wilson’s claims Ms Broadbent was running alongside the car and had simply “stopped running”, did not corroborate with CCTV footage of the incident.
Mr Wilson continued to drive up the road before pulling over the close the back car door while passers-by stopped to help his fatally wounded partner.
The court heard the mother-to-be suffered catastrophic brain injuries and died in hospital a short time later.
Her young daughter was delivered in an emergency C-section and remains in a critical but stable condition.
In applying for bail, Mr Wilson’s lawyer said her client had strong family support from his parents who travelled from Queensland and were present in court.
Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg denied bail, saying he believed prosecutors had a strong case.
“He must have known she was in the car,” Mr Rozencwajg said.
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His honour said Mr Wilson had shown a complete disregard for not only his partner, but also his own children when he attempted to stop her taking their safety seats out of his car to use.
Investigators from the major collision unit will analyse the triple-0 phone call as well as CCTV, and conduct reconstructions of the incident.
Previous family violence incidents will also be investigated, Sergeant Out said.
Wilson will return to court in January.