Sunnybank Hills: Baby dead, twin sister in hospital

A baby girl has died and another is in hospital after what appears to be a tragic accident in Brisbane’s south.

A baby girl has died and another is in hospital in a critical condition after what appears to be a tragic accident in Brisbane’s south.

The incident on Wednesday morning followed the heartbreaking deaths of two baby sisters on Saturday after they were left in a hot car in front of their Logan home.

While Logan mother Kerri-Ann Conley has been charged with the murder of her daughters, Wednesday’s incident was ruled “not suspicious”.

Police set up a crime scene around the Sunnybank home but left the property shortly after 10am, about four hours after the six-week-old girls were discovered unresponsive.

One baby was pronounced dead at the scene while the other was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

A neighbour described the heartbreaking “howls” of the girl’s father when he learnt his daughter had died.

“I saw two ambulances at about 5.30 this morning and then police and then about 20 minutes afterwards I just heard the husband crying very loudly, sobbing,” she said.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’ I was very scared. I thought something must have happened to the wife.

“He cried for a very long time.”

The neighbour said the family moved in next door about four years ago and had two older children, a girl aged about 4 and a boy aged about 2.

She described them as a happy family and doting parents.

“They seem to be peaceful, nice people. They have things for their children and their children seem happy. I didn’t ever see anything wrong,” she said.

The neighbour said she knew the woman next door was expecting a new child about “two or three months ago”.

She said the incident had “shaken the life” out of her.

“This morning, it must have been the parents (of the couple), came and were crying in the yard. The little girl was happy, playing,” she said.

Neighbour Tony Pitman said he did not know the family well but had seen them happily walking along the street with their children: “We’re really shaken to have this happen in our neighbourhood. It is unexpected.”

Police issued a statement saying the death was not being treated as suspicious.

“Sadly, a six-week-old baby girl died at the scene,” the police statement said.

“Another six-week-old baby girl was transported to hospital where she remains in a critical condition. Preliminary investi­gations suggest the babies were sleeping together throughout the night and were discovered un­responsive this morning.

“A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of the baby’s death.”

The deaths of sisters Darcey-Helen, 2, and Chloe-Ann, 1, in a hot car in Logan has exposed the Palaszczuk government’s failure to implement promised legislation to overhaul the way government agencies respond to and review their actions in the wake of child deaths.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has admitted the family are known to the state’s child protection department.

The government’s Child Death Review Amendment Bill is yet to be debated and is unlikely to pass before the end of the year.