Leeanne Eatts manslaughter trial: The first day

The final moments of two little boys will be scrutinised as their mother faces trial for manslaughter, with her lawyer revealing the window of time they were left unsupervised before a search started. They were later found drowned in a North Queensland river. 

Smoking Ceremony and Memorial held for Barak Austral 5 and Jhulio Sariago 3, the two boys who drowned in the Ross River. Mother Leeann Eatts. Picture: Alix Sweeney

The guilt or innocence of a mother charged with the manslaughter of her two young boys will probably hinge on a mere 79 minute period on the afternoon when they disappeared and were later found drowned in the Ross River.

Leeanne Chrysilla Eatts, 52, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Barak Brian Austral, 5 (known as Junior), and Jhulio Maximus Arturo Sariago, 3, on February 25, 2019.

Eatts’ barrister Tony Kimmins told the jury in his opening address that it may have come down to one hour and 19 minutes where the two boys may have been unsupervised – between 4.26pm and 5.45 pm - prior to a search for them beginning. 

He said the Crown will allege that she did not take reasonable precautions to avoid circumstances bringing danger to their lives and causing their deaths.

“What do they say this woman should have done in that one hour and 19 minutes?” he said.

“What is missing is what she should have done in that time and how can you realistically consider it as an omission?”

Mr Kimmins said this was not a simple case and the prosecution could not identify when the children drowned.

“They cannot put a time to it,” he said. 

He said the witnesses mentioned by the prosecution who saw the two little boys playing in their yard, the street and near the river all had the benefit of hindsight, already knowing that two children had drowned when they gave their statements.

Mr Kimmins said many children drowned in Queensland and Australia every year.

“All of these children had parents or carers allegedly supervising them, with a duty of care,” he said.

“It is fairly rare for any of those parents to ever be charged and in most cases the grief and despair is enough.”

In his opening address, chief prosecutor David Nardone recalled the circumstances surrounding the boys being missed on February 25, 2019 and the 12-hour search that followed, and how their bodies were finally found submerged near the river in the early hours of February 26.

He told the jury that a number of witnesses would be called who spotted the boys playing together, as they often did, near their home in Brett Street, Cranbrook, with no sign of any adult supervision on that day.

“The prosecution will claim that Ms Eatts did not reasonably supervise the little boys in order to avoid danger and she did nothing to prevent them from accessing the body of water in which they drowned,” he said.

He said evidence would be presented that she believed the kids were playing with some African children in the street, but those children never visited on that day.

Mr Nardone said the driveway of the Eatts two-storey house was only 193m from the edge of the Ross River and 89m from the first natural body of water.

The court was told that the boys had been playing near the river the previous day and after an argument, one of them had thrown a bicycle into the mud beside the river.

Mr Nardone said neighbours would tell the court that they heard Eatts heavily scolding the boys for going near the water unsupervised, as neither of them could swim.

He said security cameras at neighbours’ homes would show that no one was seen to enter or leave the Eatts house during the time the boys went missing and before Eatts made the triple-0 call at 7.23pm on that evening.

The court was closed to all people except the jury on Tuesday afternoon as they watched video evidence from a minor.

The case will continue on Wednesday.

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Originally published as Leeanne Eatts manslaughter trial: The first day

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