Mum pleads guilty to infanticide, magistrate labels it ‘extraordinarily tragic’

A mum waved to a train as she held her three-month-old baby minutes before she was gravely injured and her child killed in Upwey. WARNING: Graphic content.

A Victorian woman waved at a passing train with her three-month-old daughter moments before she laid the infant and herself on the tracks in an “extraordinarily tragic” case.

Melissa Arbuckle appeared via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to one count of infanticide.

“This is an extraordinarily tragic event, and it’s tragic for many, many people,” magistrate Donna Bakos said at the hearing.

The 32-year-old mum had just farewelled her sister and mum from a visit when she took her three-month-old daughter for a walk around 4.20pm on July 11 this year.

Melissa Arbuckle appeared via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to one count of infanticide.

“Muffin was losing it after feed so I’ve gone for a walk with her,” she sent in a text to her husband before heading off.

As she walked her baby in the pram she started searching the internet for information on trains including speed, timetables and train derailments for more than half an hour, according to an agreed summary released by the court.

Ms Arbuckle also sent a text thanking her mum and sister for stopping by that afternoon.

She was waiting along near Kumbada Ave after the Glenfern Rd Bridge when a train driver spotted the woman with the baby held at chest height about 5.02pm.

She used her baby’s hand to wave at the train, the summary reads.

Minutes later, a train heading towards Belgrave station spotted her moving towards the tracks in a “suspicious” way between Upwey Railway Station and Tecoma Station and activated the emergency brakes.

The mum placed the baby on the tracks in the path of an oncoming train and was trying to lie down on her right side when it hit both of them.

The baby was struck and thrown underneath the carriage while Ms Arbuckle was left seriously injured.

Passers-by rushed to the scene and found the mum lying on the side of the tracks, and the baby who was still breathing was pulled from under the train.

The mum placed the baby on the tracks in the path of an oncoming train and was trying to lie down on her right side when it hit both of them. Picture: David Crosling

When emergency services arrived the woman was hitting herself in the head with railway ballast.

The little girl died at the Royal Children’s Hospital that evening after she was flown from the scene.

In the weeks before the tragedy the young mum had been “really down” and believed she injured her baby because she rocked the child’s bassinet too vigorously, according to the summary.

The day before the incident she shared she had been suffering from suicidal thoughts.

The woman and her husband were also forced to leave their Upwey home and stay with her mother because raging storms in the Dandenong Ranges cut power to their home for more than a week.

The day after the train crash Ms Arbuckle was diagnosed with severe major postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.

She will remain on bail and must reside at the Morwell address, surrender her passport, obey lawful directions of healthcare professionals and not leave Victoria without permission.

Infanticide applies to women who kill their children, if they are under the age of two, in instances where the mother has mental health issues related to childbirth.

Arbuckle will return to court next week.

Originally published as Mum pleads guilty to infanticide, magistrate labels it ‘extraordinarily tragic’