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Kylie Patten: mum of baby found in freezer in Corowa told friends she did not kill her son Kevin

The mother of a baby boy whose body was found in a freezer has claimed she knows his killer. Read the messages she sent a friend.

Mother grieving after baby’s body found in freezer

A mother whose three-month-old son was found wrapped in a blanket in a freezer in January has told friends he “should still be alive” and has privately toyed with the idea of killing the man she believes to be responsible.

Kylie Patten, 40, was arrested and released without charge in January when police found baby Kevin in a freezer at her parents’ cluttered home in the dusty outskirts of picturesque Corowa, where she had moved in just weeks before she gave birth.

Kylie Patten has told friends she knows who is responsible for her baby’s death.
Kylie Patten has told friends she knows who is responsible for her baby’s death.
Baby Kevin John Patten was found wrapped in a blanket in a freezer at Corowa.
Baby Kevin John Patten was found wrapped in a blanket in a freezer at Corowa.

A NSW police strike force, Strike Force Walumil, has spent nearly three months investigating Kevin’s death.

A series of messages, obtained exclusively by the Herald Sun, for the first time details Ms Patten’s account of her son’s death, which, she said, she relayed to police in a detailed statement when she was arrested.

In the messages, Ms Patten, who has a long history of mental health issues, revealed who she thought was responsible for the three-month-old’s death.

Ms Patten said the man was at the Church St home she shared with her parents and her son the night he died.

Kylie Patten and baby Kevin were living at Wayne and Sue Patten’s home on Church St. Picture: Simon Dallinger
Kylie Patten and baby Kevin were living at Wayne and Sue Patten’s home on Church St. Picture: Simon Dallinger
Floral tributes outside the Patten family home after baby Kevin’s body was found. Picture: Simon Dallinger
Floral tributes outside the Patten family home after baby Kevin’s body was found. Picture: Simon Dallinger

“I know whom (sic) was at my place that night,” she wrote in a message to a friend.

“I’ve already told the police who put me in handcuffs.”

Ms Patten described her relationship with the man as one in which “I was sexual with (him) … and he scored for us”.

She said police had yet to substantiate her claims because the man’s “mummy and daddy are covering his arse”.

Ms Patten said she was still in the dark about the cause of her son’s death as forensic pathologists had not completed an autopsy.

It remains a mystery how Kevin ended up in the freezer, and precisely how long his body was there before a police officer discovered it during a welfare check.

Ms Patten is so adamant her claims about the “sneaky” man are true she said she might kill him if she had the chance.

Crime scene examiners seize dozens of exhibits from the Patten family home after the discovery of Kevin’s body. Picture: Simon Dallinger
Crime scene examiners seize dozens of exhibits from the Patten family home after the discovery of Kevin’s body. Picture: Simon Dallinger

“I should be sneaky too, and take his life,” she said.

Ms Patten said she was anguished that Kevin’s father, an Albury man she was estranged from, never got to meet their young son.

“Bubba’s dad … didn’t get the opportunity to see his son or be with us,” she wrote.

The case left Corowa in shock, with Ms Patten’s parents, Wayne and Sue Patten, regarded in town as private, hardworking community stalwarts.

The Patten family repeatedly declined to comment when contacted by the Herald Sun, with Mrs Patten fighting off tears at the mention of baby Kevin’s name.

They have both stood by their daughter, who spends much of her time with them working at their hardware store in the town’s main street.

A NSW police spokeswoman said the investigation into Kevin’s death remained an active case.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/kylie-patten-mum-of-baby-found-in-freezer-in-corowa-told-friends-she-did-not-kill-her-son-kevin/news-story/b0cebc5e3c62c716355f28b5919e764b