Questions linger as probe into death of baby found in Corowa freezer nears its end

Police are nearing the end of a marathon probe into the death of baby Kevin Patten, whose body was found in a Corowa freezer — but nobody has been charged.

Police are on the cusp of completing a marathon investigation into the baffling death of Corowa baby Kevin Patten, whose body was found in a freezer almost a year ago.

Three-month-old Kevin’s mum, Kylie Patten, 41, was arrested but released without charge following the gruesome discovery of her son’s body in late January last year.

A NSW spokeswoman confirmed a strike force, led by detectives from the Murray River Police District, had spent the past year conducting “extensive inquiries” into the circumstances surrounding Kevin’s death.

A brief of evidence is being prepared for the NSW Coroner.

In an interview with detectives, Ms Patten told police her son “should still be alive” and named a man who, she said, was responsible for her son’s death.

But she said “his mummy and daddy were covering his arse” and that police had struggled to obtain any proof that he was responsible for Kevin’s death.

“No one can do anything without further evidence,” Ms Patten wrote in a message to a friend last year.

Kylie Patten was arrested after her son’s body was found but she was later released.

The Herald Sun understands the police investigation has included an in-depth probe of the healthcare and welfare arrangements for Kevin, Ms Patten’s mental health, and her self-professed drug use.

Nobody has been charged over Kevin’s death, but detectives are also investigating whether any criminal offences, such as tampering with a corpse, were committed following his death.

Kevin was buried at the Corowa lawn cemetery in March last year, following an autopsy, the results of which are yet to be made public.

In a moving online tribute on the day of his funeral, Ms Patten — who has repeatedly declined to speak with news outlets — wrote: “My days with Kevin will never end”.

She also wrote: “Mum (Kevin’s grandma, Sue Patten) wants to see you and I still do”.

Ms Patten was last known to be living out the back of her elderly parent’s hardware shop on Sanger St, Corowa.

Nobody has yet been charged over baby Kevin’s death.

A now-estranged family friend told the Herald Sun this week Ms Patten had been too distraught to return to her elderly parent’s cluttered Church St home, where Kevin’s body was found, in the aftermath of his death.

“I can’t bear to see the Pattens anymore,” the family friend said.

“I struggle each day thinking about how that boy might have died … the whole town wants answers.”

One possibility is that investigators will use a Coronial inquest to forcibly, and publicly, question Ms Patten, her parents and the man Ms Patten claims was responsible for Kevin’s death.

However, the Coroner’s Court will not determine whether it will hold an inquest into Kevin’s death until after police have filed their brief of evidence.

Ms Patten’s father, Wayne, has previously told the Herald Sun he had “no idea” how his grandson’s body ended up in the freezer.