Witnesses speak after 1yo girl found dead inside car outside Sydney childcare centre
Witnesses have recalled the horror of a man who found a one-year-old baby dead inside a car outside a childcare centre.
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A man who found a one-year-old girl dead inside a car outside a childcare centre screamed, “I’ve killed my daughter” after making the tragic discovery, a witness has claimed.
The baby was found unresponsive in the vehicle outside Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre on Marana Rd, Earlwood at about 5.35pm on Tuesday.
While the cause of death is yet to be determined, NSW Police believe she was left inside the vehicle for an extended period of time. Temperatures in the area had neared 30C.
Roy Gomes, who lives nearby, told NewsWire he was cutting grass on Tuesday afternoon when he heard a man scream.
“My neighbour came across and he said, ‘Can you hear that screaming?’, so I turned the lawnmower off,” Mr Gomes said.
“When I got there, I saw the (man) with the baby in (his) arms and he was just panicking.
“We didn’t know what to do, (so) I said, ‘Let's try and give her CPR, do our best.
“He was screaming, poor guy, he kept screaming saying, ‘I’ve killed my daughter’.”
Mr Gomes said other neighbours tried to help.
“All the neighbours were really good, putting water on her (and) trying to cool her down, because she was obviously still very hot,” he said.
“She was just floppy.”
Mr Gomes said the ordeal had kept him up that night.
“I didn’t sleep much last night, just because I could see the little baby’s face all night, but it’s just something you do,” he said.
Bystanders have also questioned how the baby may have been left in the car.
“You think you’d realise the baby’s there, but then I’m thinking … the baby’s in there hiding – if she’s asleep with a blanket, especially if they’re just not making any noise,” he said.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the girl attended Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre, though police officers were seen entering the property on Wednesday morning.
The Earlwood centre is licensed to care for up to 36 children and has a KindiCare rating of 8.7, just below the area’s average of 8.8, according to online records.
The KindiCare website says the centre received a National Quality Standard (NQS) rating of Meeting NQS under the National Quality Framework, with its most recent review in July 2024.
It has a five-star average from seven parent reviews left on the site since 2017.
Out early on Wednesday morning, local resident Karen told NewsWire the centre had been renovated during the Christmas holidays.
“There were a lot of sirens (on Tuesday afternoon) and I thought, ‘They sound very close,’ but it was at that time of night when you’re making dinner,” Karen told NewsWire.
She said the street was usually busy with a lot of cars around in the morning, but it was instead nearly empty on Wednesday in the lead-up to the centre's opening time.
Superintendent Christine McDonald described the little girl’s death as “an absolute tragedy” and “a most traumatic event” when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“The information provided to us suggests that this baby was left inside the vehicle for an extended period of time on a very hot day,” Superintendent McDonald said.
“Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly.”
A man, a “close relative” of the little girl, was taken to hospital in shock. Her mother is also helping police.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation into the tragedy is under way.
Superintendent McDonald said all lines of inquiry were being investigated by detectives.
She said it was still not known when the baby was left in the car.
“The timeline of events – we need to seek that information from people that we’re currently speaking to or waiting to speak to,” she said.
NSW Ambulance paramedics attended but the little girl died at the scene.
A male occupant of the vehicle – believed to be related to the child – is assisting police with their inquiries.
Two years ago, a similar tragedy occurred when three-year-old Arikh Hasan was found dead in the back of a Toyota Corolla in Sydney’s southwest as temperatures climbed to 34C.
Originally published as Witnesses speak after 1yo girl found dead inside car outside Sydney childcare centre
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